Daydreamer in the Dark
by Takita
Summary: ***Completed*** Emotional conflict, and dreams that haunt the mind. Sometimes people don't have any say where their feelings are concerned. Julia/Hwoarang.
1. Espionage

Disclaimer: Tekken and all it's characters belong to Namco, not me.

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Daydreamer in the Dark

Julia peered into the darkness of the lab; it seemed to be safe. Quickly she hurried across to the large bank of computers, trying to be as quiet as possible. With a last glance around the shadows, she sat herself in front of the monitor and began searching the database for what she wanted. It didn't take too long to locate. Soon she had her entire project data displayed before her on the Mishima Zaibatsu's supercomputers. 

"Hmm, some things have been changed… What have they done here?" Julia murmured to herself, frowning at the bizarre DNA information mixed through her research data. Still puzzling over the data on the screens, Julia quickly copied the files onto disc and slipped it inside her jacket before continuing her search in more detail. 

"Devil gene? My god, they're trying to use GENOCELL to create some kind of monster. That's unconscionable!"

"GENOCELL is the key to making our experiment a success. Without it, the devil genes would destroy the human genes." Julia turned to see a man emerging from the darkness. He was dressed in a lab coat and wore unusual red sunglasses. His smile was menacing as he approached her. "You have an exceptional mind, Ms Chang. Why not join us in our work. This is your chance to be part of something special, this research represents the future of mankind" the scientist leered.

"I will never join you! This cannot be mankind's future, this monstrosity. I will not allow it." Julia stood defiant before the scientist, as she quickly set the computer to delete all the GENOCELL data.

"Nooo!" Julia leapt for the door, narrowly avoiding fatal wounds as the scientist drew a gun and began to fire. Alarms sounded their disapproval as she raced down the corridor, skidding and barging through a fire exit into the stairwell.

The pounding feet of the guards were hot on her heels as she thundered down the stairs. More foot soldiers issued into the stairwell below her and she had no choice but to exit through the nearest doorway. She emerged in a hallway, disorientated by the flashing security lights. Unsure of which way to go, Julia ran senselessly through a labyrinth of corridors, narrowly escaping the tekken force at every turn. A left turn here, a right turn there, down more stairs and yet another identical passage, all the time the deafening alarms, tearing through her thoughts.

As she raced past yet another hallway there was the sound of shots and Julia gasped at the pain in her arm. A quick glance revealed a tranquilliser dart. Julia hunted desperately for an exit as the first wave of nausea hit her. 'There! Garbage shoot!' she flung herself headlong into the shoot and plummeted into the darkness, landing with a painful crash outside. Struggling to hold on to consciousness, she hauled herself out of the dumpster. The world swimming around her, she collapsed ungracefully on the ground. Despairingly, Julia fought to focus her eyes on the pair of feet in front of her, but it was futile, and the last thing she heard was the heavy footfalls of guards approaching as she succumbed to the drug.


	2. Nightmares and Daymares

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

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_The wind howled in the treetops, as though it were some animal in terrible pain. Julia shivered, pulling her shirt tightly round her as she trekked along the forest path. The branches of the trees seemed to reach for her, catching in her hair and tearing at her clothes. Soon she found herself having to fight her way through the twisted growths, the forest crowding in around her, swallowing her in it's darkness._

_Desperately she tore at the foliage, trying frantically to free herself from it's grasp. Her fingers clutched at the sharp thorns, gnarled branches, and the huge leafs which enveloped her. They seemed to burn her flesh and she noticed that they felt tough and leathery._

_Julia's eyes widened in horror as huge bat like wings folded around her, the colour of deep bruises. _

_She struck at them wildly, pulling herself free from their clutches. Fear gripped her heart as she watched the trees around her unfold and reveal their trunks to be formed from the bodies of demons. Their wicked red eyes gloating at her, they took flight into the night storm like a flock of crows._

_All around her, fires rose, eating away at the trees, consuming them. Julia saw standing before her another demon, terrible and frightening, it's stare seeming so powerful it could pierce her flesh. An immense red scar marred its chest and coarse black hair swept back in a widow's peak, around two twisted, formidable horns._

_Julia tried desperately to run as the monster advanced on her, but she found herself seemingly paralysed with fear. With one massive, clawed hand, the beast gripped her by the throat and pulled her close to its horrifying face._

_"Kisama wa ware no shi da." the demon's voice echoed through her skull, tearing at her very soul. He threw her to the ground, smashing her against the rocks as though she was nothing more than a rag doll. Julia stared up in terror as fire scorched the sky in huge and terrible waves, and a harsh and barren desert swept across the land, the colourless sand burning her skin as it engulfed her. She fought to free her limbs, but she struggled in vain as the desert threatened to bury her alive._

Julia wriggled around, trying to get her arms and legs untangled. She opened her eyes and immediately shut them again, as the light burned into the back of her head. She lay still to let the throbbing in her head die down a little. Her body felt very heavy and weary. Little by little the nightmare faded and her memory of what had happened seeped back. 

Eventually she ventured to open her eyes again, more cautiously this time.

"Well, well, well. I see sleeping beauty has finally woken up."

Julia raised herself up onto her elbows and scanned the room for the source of the voice. She was lying on a couch in a relatively bare room with a small kitchenette in one wall, and a couple of doors leading out of it. In the centre of the room was a low table and across the table there were a couple of chairs, one of which was occupied by a young man. She recognised him as one of the fighters from the tournament, an angry young redhead who had some sort of vendetta against the Japanese boy, Jin Kazama... She frowned, trying to recall his name.

"I was beginning to think you'd never wake up" Hwoarang watched her from behind the long strands of red hair which fell in his face. He smiled at her in what she took to be quite an arrogant manner.

"Where am I? How did I get here?" She questioned, pushing herself into a sitting position and examining the bandage on her arm suspiciously.

Hwoarang leant towards her and smiled again. "Straight to business huh? This is my place. I ran into you in that alley round the back of the Zaibatsu HQ. Seems you've been a bad girl." He smirked. "You wanna tell me why they were after you?"

"That's none of your business." She snapped, getting to her feet a little unsteadily, as the tranquilliser hadn't worn off completely yet. "You brought me back to your house? Why didn't you take me to the hospital?!" Julia was still very on edge after the other night's events, and she did not like being in unfamiliar surroundings.

"Hey, take it easy. You should rest a bit." Hwoarang stood up and moved round the table to her.

"I've got to get out of here." She said, quickly moved away from him and making for the door.

"Wait! Come on, I risked my ass for you, you could at least..." He trailed off as the door slammed shut behind her.

"Damn, she's hostile." Hwoarang grumbled to himself, watching her leave the building from his window.

It was around 4pm when the taxi dropped Julia outside her hotel. She made her way up to her room, looking around suspiciously in case the Tekken Force had bothered to track her back to the hotel. Fortunately, there was no sign of ill play, and she decided that they probably didn't realise that she'd made a copy of the files. Once in her room, she took a couple of painkillers to help with her headache, and tried to get some sleep. However, after 20 minutes of tossing and turning, she gave up and decided that she had to deal with all the stuff going through her head before she drove herself crazy.

Julia headed down to the local library, though it took her a while to find, since she didn't speak any Japanese, and Tokyo is a very big and confusing place. Once inside, she had even more trouble finding what she wanted. None of the librarians spoke English, but eventually they found a member of staff who did, and they were able to show her how to use the library's Internet service. This took yet more time, as the keyboards were set to type in Japanese. Finally, after over an hour, Julia was all set to do what she wanted. 

First, she sent an email to Professor T., the leader of her research group, to tell him everything she had discovered. Then she began mulling over the nightmare she had had. It had felt so real, so terrifying. She saw the image of that monster every time she shut her eyes, and felt the heat of the dream burning into her flesh even now. On top of that, there was the fiery redhead who had helped her, but why would someone like that want to help her? She dreaded what he would have tried if she had stayed there, or what he could have done whilst she was asleep... But then she thought, perhaps she was being unfair. After all, he had saved her; she shuddered to think what would have become of her if the guards had caught her. She would probably be dead by now, or being tortured in some horrible dungeon. But he was a criminal, a street fighter, if she remembered correctly. His living was made from deceiving and hurting people. She was right not to trust him.

She decided to try to find out more about G Corporation's devil gene experiments and what the Mishima Zaibatsu had been planning to do with them, but she had no luck finding any information. She felt as if she were fumbling pathetically in the dark for clues that she would never find. Perhaps it was best that she didn't find anything, did she really want to get involved with such evil?

Julia was reading about Heihachi Mishima, the Tekken Tournament organiser and CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu, when she noticed a link to the tournament website. She followed the link and found information on all the participants. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about the redhead anymore, but curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself looking at his profile. His hair was shorter in his photograph, spiked into dyed-red tufts, instead of the longer strands which had fallen in the eyes of the man she saw that afternoon. 'Korean, Hwoarang: the Blood Talon. Unusual name...' She thought to herself as she read through his file. He had been drafted into the Korean army after the last tournament. 'Does that mean he's AWOL?' Julia was deep in thought when she was interrupted by a polite cough from behind her.

She turned to see a neatly dressed librarian looking at her nervously. "Ojosan, sumimasen. Toshokan a juu ji ni shimarimasu." She said, but Julia frowned at her in confusion. "Aa, American, yes? The library closes now." She explained, gesturing at a clock on the wall.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Julia exclaimed, grabbing her coat from the back of her chair and headed for the exit.

It was already dark when she got outside and Julia hurriedly made her way back to the hotel. However, shortly after her departure she was confronted by two men. Others emerged from the shadows behind her. She was surrounded. 

"Heey! Whadda we got here then?! Pretty little thing out all by herself in the middle of the night. Don't you know it's dangerous to walk the streets alone, little girl?" The first man jeered, blowing a cloud of sickly smoke in her direction.

"Kittaka! Leave this one alone, okay." A familiar voice barked out of the darkness behind her. Julia turned to see Hwoarang meander over to her and sling his arm rudely around her shoulders. He glared threateningly at the man.

"Friend of yours, Blood Talon?" Kittaka smirked.

"Yeah, we're best of friends." Hwoarang sneered sarcastically, giving Julia a shake. "Gonna give us a bit o' privacy." He stated simply, his voice taking on a dangerous edge.

"Sure thing." The group around them sauntered off into the night, muttering obscenities and casting filthy looks back at Julia and Hwoarang.

Once they'd gone Hwoarang removed his arm from her shoulders and stood in front of her, looking slightly uncomfortable. Julia went to walk past him, but he moved to block her path.

"Hey, I thought we could maybe have a chat before you went running off, you owe me that at least."

"I don't owe you anything!" Julia snapped. Being this close to him made her nervous, and she didn't trust his motives for helping her out, especially not after seeing the sort of people he hung out with. She tried to walk around him again, but he blocked her way. She tried again, this time making the mistake of shoving him. In a flash, he'd grabbed her by the hair and pushed her face first against a wall.

"I took on 8 armed guards and then hauled your heavy ass all the way back to my apartment. Then I stayed up all night making sure you didn't choke on your own vomit or something. You owe me a lot!" He snarled in her ear. His hot breath tickled her neck and she could feel the heat from his body pressed against her back. A hand pressed hard on the back of her shoulder, another slid down to her lower back. Julia trembled with fear under his grasp.

"Please, don't." She begged, her voice shaking.

Hwoarang tensed as he realised what she meant, and he quickly relaxed the pressure on her. "Sorry... Look, can't we just talk normally?" He asked, stepping back and letting her go. 

As he moved Julia turned and hit him with all her strength. Hwoarang staggered back from the blow as she sprinted across the road and vaulted the wall into the City Park. Hwoarang recovered from her attack quickly and took chase, leaping the wall with equal agility. 'Why do I always seem to be running away!' Julia thought to herself, her heart thumping furiously, blood rushing in her ears. 'Oh God, he's gaining on me.' Hwoarang kicked off a park bench as he ran past, leaping and tackling Julia to the ground. She fought and struggled against him as he wrestled to keep her down. With one last shove he pinned both her wrists to the ground and she wriggled helplessly beneath him. All of a sudden he leaned in close to her and she froze instantly. He was so close his nose brushed hers, their lips so close they shared the same breath. She could feel the weight of his body pushing down upon her. Their eyes were locked and no matter how she tried, she could not look away from his fierce gaze. His eyes blazed with such passion and aggression she felt that they could penetrate her soul. But there was also a deep sadness and hurt within those eyes, and she feared that they would swallow her up and she would see nothing else. And then, as suddenly as he had come close, Hwoarang was gone, pushing himself off her and stalking away into the darkness, swearing under his breath. Julia just lay there, staring up at the night sky, her heart pounding in her chest, tears running down her cheeks.

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A/N: I know everything isn't all nice and happy in this, but I refuse to believe that people who spend their entire lives fighting are going to be lovely and pleasant to everyone all the time.


	3. Girl Talk

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed my story so far, it's greatly appreciated. And thanks to anyone who is reading it, but not reviewing. I start back at university next week, so I probably won't get to update quite as often, but I'll do my best. I hope you all enjoy the story. Thank you!

Disclaimer: I sent an email to Namco explaining that I was very poor and therefore couldn't afford to buy Tekken from them. I suggested that since it was my birthday soon, (Ok, so it's not for another few months) would they consider giving it to me for free, out of the goodness of their hearts. They haven't got back to me yet though, so currently Tekken still isn't mine.

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A pile of soaking clothes lay discarded on the floor, and Julia stood, freezing and naked in the middle of the bathroom. She stared miserably at her reflection in the mirror, her face blotchy and sad, her eyes red from crying. Her hair clung to her face and back in cold, wet clumps. A more thorough study of her body found very little else wrong. There was a bruise on her knee, where it had hit the ground when he'd tackled her, but it wasn't large. Her wrists, though they felt tender and sore to the touch, bared no marks at all. All in all, Julia concluded that she was fit, before she climbed into the shower, allowing the powerful jets of warmth to wash away the coldness of the night storm and soothe her nerves.

Outside the window, huge bolts of lightening tore the sky apart. Had it not been for the double glazed windows, the grumbling thunder would no doubt have shaken her to the bone. Julia sat, towel drying her hair and considering her luck at reaching the hotel before the worst of the storm. She also considered how she would most likely have escaped it completely had it not been for her run in with Hwoarang. Her head was heavy with emotions regarding the unusually dramatic events of the last few days, yet she had trouble forming coherent thoughts about anything. Her mind and body felt a powerful weariness and she rested her head against the windowpane and stared numbly into the storm as fatigue solaced her senses.

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Lightening struck the tree beside her, tearing a deep scar in the wood and showering her with sparks and splinters. All around, terrible, mutilated stumps stuck out of the burnt earth of the desolate landscape. Julia shook in horror at the terrible clouds that billowed across the sky and icy shivers raced down her spine as devilish laugher echoed through the atmosphere. 'Oh God, this can't be real. This is just a dream, Julia!' She thought desperately to herself. 'Please, make it end, make it stop.' Her mind pleaded as the storm clouds appeared to bear down upon her, and the thunder laughed, mocking her weakness. Julia shouted at the storm, with all her strength desperately trying to make her voice heard above the wind. "Spirits! Help me, save me from this nightmare!"

Julia awoke with a start. She was back in her hotel room, her bed sheets damp with sweat from her night terrors. Outside the window, the rain fell steadily. The wind no longer battered the city with terrible gusts and the sky was dark and quiet. The storm had passed. Julia sat up in bed, raking her hand through her hair, shaking to shake the nightmare from her mind. She was about to get up and fetch a glass of water when she heard the approaching footsteps in the corridor outside. Soft thuds accompanied by a muted clinking of metal. Julia held her breath as the footfalls came to a halt. There was a moment of silence, which felt like an eternity. Her eyes were fixed unmoving on the door, as though if she stared hard enough she would see who was on the other side.

Julia almost jumped right out of her skin as the door burst open, and she saw him standing in the entrance. Strands of red hair framed his features, and his bright eyes fixed her with a fierce stare. She struggled to climb off the bed, readying herself to fight him. He moved quickly, pushing her back down onto the bed and bringing himself down on top of her. She went to cry out, but he smothered her voice with his mouth, his kiss deep and passionate. Before she realised what she was doing, Julia was kissing back, forcing her lips against his, hungry for him. Her arms wrapped around him, gripping at the fabric of his clothing. Hands explored her with the same hunger and passion. Their kisses were heavy with desire…

Uncurling from the foetal position in which she'd been lying, Julia groggily wiped the sleep from her eyes. She squinted at the sunlight streaming through the window and winced at the pain in her back and shoulder. Yawning, she looked blearily around the room. She was alone. It had been a dream. Julia stood, trying to shake the stiffness and cramp from her body. Falling asleep in the armchair instead of the bed had not been a good idea. She sighed, looking at the clock to discover that they'd stopped serving breakfast over an hour ago.

She was just gathering her things to go for a swim in the hotel's pool when the phone rang. The receptionist on the line informed her in impeccable English that Ling Xiaoyu was waiting for her in the hotel lobby. Yet again, Julia sighed. "I'll be down in a minute."

Xiaoyu was stood fiddling with her hair and flicking uninterestedly through some leaflets. A huge grin spread across her face when she spotted Julia and she bounced and waved her way over.

"Julia, hi! I love your hair." Xiaoyu enthused, flicking one of Julia's braids and smiling broadly.

Julia regarded Xiaoyu with a frown. "Isn't it Saturday? Why are you wearing your school uniform?"

"Erm, well, you see… Guys really like it." An embarrassed, but cheeky grin radiated from her features, and there was a wicked twinkle in her eye. "Come on! Let's get out of here." Julia found herself being towed unceremoniously across the lobby and out through the big glass doors.

Ten minutes later the pair of them were walking along a bright street, slurping milkshakes and checking out what the shop windows had to offer. 

"So how did that thing you couldn't tell me about go the other night then?" Xiaoyu asked. Julia thought she had to be the nosiest person she'd ever met. She couldn't really blame her for being curious about this one though. She'd made the whole thing sound very cloak and daggerish. 

"I don't know what you're talking about." She stated defensively, but Xiaoyu wasn't going to accept that answer. 

"You know exactly what I'm talking about!" She declared, standing directly in Julia's path and holding her arms out to stop her in her tracks. "I want answers! You were going to break in to the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters, weren't you?"

"How did you know that?" Julia exclaimed, taken aback by Xiaoyu'sdeclaration.

"Aha! So I was right." A triumphant smile covered the younger girl's face. "I just guessed you were doing something like that. It was kind of obvious really, what with all that stuff about the Zaibatsu breaking into G Corporation and you working for them and all." Julia was completely thrown off by Xiaoyu's wealth of knowledge on the subject, and seeing this from the expression on her face, Xiaoyu explained more thoroughly. "I got an email a few months after the last tournament. I don't know for sure, but I think it was from Jin." A wistful look briefly passed across her face. "He warned me that Heihachi couldn't be trusted, and I should be careful. He said that Heihachi might try to assassinate me. So I started to keep an eye on Heihachi, reading newspaper reports and stuff, to see what he was up to. That's how I knew about the raid on G Corporation. That's why I entered the tournament this time. I was hoping I might get to see Jin again…" Xiaoyu trailed off, a distant look upon her face.

As they walked together through the busy streets Julia explained everything about her break in at the Mishima Zaibatsu HQ. Xiaoyu was fascinated by all she was told and said that she thought Julia had done the right thing. However, in typical Xiaoyu fashion, she became most interested in the bit about Hwoarang. "He took you back to his apartment? That's soo romantic!" She gushed, visibly glowing with excitement.

"It wasn't romantic, it was really dodgy. How would you like to wake up to find some total stranger, a criminal, had taken you back to his house and was watching you sleep?!" 

"I'd have been quite happy if it had been Hwoarang! He's gorgeous. I think you'd make such a cute couple." Xiaoyu giggled and nudged Julia.

"He's a nasty street thug, he attacked me last night!" Julia argued, trying hard to hide her blushing.

"He attacked you? Why? When? Did you stay at his place?" Xiaoyu had to stop for air as she streamed out a great list of questions. When finally she managed to calm down a little she asked Julia to explain exactly what had happened. 

Once Julia had told her everything, up until when Hwoarang had left her in the park, Xiaoyu just stood and gawped. "Well?" Julia prompted, and then regretted it almost instantly.

"HE WAS GOING TO KISS YOU!" People around them turned to see what the shouting was about and Julia tried desperately to keep Xiaoyu from drawing any more attention. The schoolgirl was bouncing on the spot excitedly. "He saved your life and he wants to be with you, that's so romantic. You're really lucky!"

"Lucky?! It was really scary!" Julia exclaimed.

"I bet it was exciting!" Xiaoyu thrilled, beaming at her happily.

Julia shook her head despairingly, "He scares me…" Unfortunately the over-excited girl caught the hesitation in her voice.

"You like him! You like him!" She shrieked, hopping from foot to foot and grinning like a maniac. The curious glances from passers-by were now turning to disturbed glares and Julia was feeling very self-conscious. "Did something else happen?!" Julia silently cursed Xiaoyu's intuition.

"No, nothing else happened. Not really, anyway…"

"Oooo! Did he kiss you? Did you see him again?" There was no way she was going to be able to convince Xiaoyu to drop the subject now.

Julia sighed deeply, resigned to telling Xiaoyu about the dream now. As impossible as it seems, the schoolgirl became even more excited when she heard her dream. "But I'm really not interested in him. It was just a dream." Julia lamely finished, but there was no chance Xiaoyu was going to believe that.

"You're in love with him!" She cried, clapping her hands in glee.

"Honestly, I'm not interested!" Julia said, though the futility of it was clear.

"Yeah, right! I always knew you'd go for bad boys! I bet you can't wait to see him again."

Julia groaned, "I really couldn't care if I never see him again."

Xiaoyu stuck out her tongue. "You can deny it all you like. We both know you like him!"

"I've barely even spoken to him Xiaoyu." Julia moaned, rolling her eyes.

"OH MY GOD!" Xiaoyu suddenly yelled, attracting angry glares from other shoppers. "He's right over there!" She was jumping up and down, pointing and waving across the street. Panicked suddenly, Julia jerked her head in the direction Xiaoyu was pointing, searching for the telltale red hair.

"Where? I can't see him!" She gasped, before noticing that her friend had dissolved into fits of laughter. Xiaoyu was doubled over, clutching at her stomach as she gasped for breath, trying to regain control.

"You should have seen your face!" She heaved. Her cheeks were flushed from laughing. "You love him!" She declared happily. Julia just scowled. It took Xiaoyu another couple of hours of constantly returning to the subject of Hwoarang before she finally managed to get Julia to begrudgingly admit that yes, she was possibly, maybe, a little tiny bit interested in him. But only a little interested. She still thought he was bad.


	4. Emotional Turmoil

Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken.

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Beads of sweat were trickling between her shoulder blades and her chest heaved great lungfuls of air, rich with the scent of exertion. Julia squeezed her eyes shut as she ran, trying to block out the rest of the world, focusing only on the rhythm of her breathing and the thudding of her feet upon the treadmill.

"Geez, you're really poundin' that thing!" The bold British accent cut through the silence of her concentration and bright blue eyes twinkled at her when she looked up. A scowl flickered across her features briefly, but still long enough for the young boxer to notice and he apologised for disturbing her. However, from his smile she guessed that Steve wasn't really sorry. The fact that he showed no sign of leaving confirmed this.

"Hello, Steve." She said, slowing the machine down to a steady walking pace.

Steve's smile broadened in response to her acknowledgement and he offered her a bottle of water. "Y'know, you're gonna hurt yourself if you keep up that pace. You shouldn't push yourself so hard, you're in great shape already." He took a cheeky look at her body as he said this, making Julia feel uncomfortable.

She sighed, taking a swig of the water and stepping off the treadmill. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew he was right. "So how are you?" She asked politely, resigned to the fact that she would have to talk to him, whether she liked it or not.

"Not too bad, not too bad." Steve responded, a hint of weariness in his voice as he followed her across the gym. They sat side by side by the vending machines as he continued. "I had a pretty rough fight yesterday, actually." Steve grimaced slightly and Julia noticed the red bruising on his cheekbone. "But I won anyway, so it doesn't matter." He continued, his smile quickly returning. "Think I'll train a bit more in the future though. I didn't expect this tournament to be so tough."

"Yes…" Julia said distractedly. Shaking her head, she brought her thoughts back to the present conversation. "I lost my last fight, so I'm not in the contest any longer." She explained, not bothering to keep the disappointment from her voice.

"Oh, that's tough luck." Steve consoled, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "That mean you'll be going back home soon?"

"My flight's not until the end of the week, so I'll be hanging around until then." Julia glanced down at her watch, uneasy discussing her failings. "Well, it looks like one of the weight machines is free now, so I'm gonna get back to my workout." She stated, making to return to the gym.

"Hey wait a sec' Jules!" Steve called after her. "Fancy going out for a drink tonight?"

"Oh, I don't think so." Julia called back, a bit surprised at his sudden invitation.

"Heh… Well, if you change your mind, hotel lobby at 8pm?" He replied, remaining cheerful. "And don't overdo it, ok?"

"Ok." Julia waved half-heartedly to him before going back to exercise.

Several hours later and Julia was sat on the end of her bed, flicking pointlessly through numerous bizarre Japanese TV channels. She'd read all the books she'd brought with her, exhausted herself at the gym, surfed the internet for ages at the library, and spent an hour on the phone to her mother. There was nothing left to distract herself with, and her mind was filled with daydreams that she was less than happy with.

She'd fantasised about Hwoarang coming to see her at the hotel. She'd though about bumping into him in the street. She'd considered being drawn to fight him in the tournament, and dreamt of having coffee with him at her university. She'd even imagined introducing him to her mother. It was driving her crazy. She didn't want to think about him anymore. Why couldn't she just forget him? She cursed Xiaoyu for putting more ideas in her head, though if she were honest, they were there already. She couldn't stand it. Her frustration at not being able to think of anything else was becoming too much to bear. She threw herself back on the bed and tugged at her hair in irritation. Rolling over, she caught sight of the clock: 7.48pm. 'Hmm, I guess it wouldn't hurt… A night out might do me good.' She thought to herself, getting up and heading for the bathroom.

Julia entered the lobby just as Steve was about to leave. She managed to catch his eye and waved. A wide grin plastered itself over his face when he saw her. "I didn't think you were gonna show!" He gushed, obviously relieved.

"Yeah, well… I needed to get out of that hotel room." She smiled broadly at him, and they made their way out of the hotel.

Julia stared down into the depths of her drink, her mind wandering discontentedly through the darkness of the Tia Maria. Her evening out wasn't as enjoyable and distracting as she had hoped it would be. It had turned out that Steve's enthusiasm wasn't reserved purely for her, but was directed at anything with breasts. At this particular moment in time his attention was fully devoted to those belonging to a young globetrotter from Canada, and next to her voluptuous figure, Julia was feeling decidedly plain and dull in her denim shirt and shorts.

She was just considering making her excuses and leaving, when Steve's bold and friendly voice boomed out over the top of her head, "Hey, Kerrang! Come and join us, man." Julia froze, hardly daring to turn and see who he was calling to. When she did look, she was met with the sight of Hwoarang standing just inside the entrance to the bar. He was looking a little less than pleased with Steve's embarrassing mispronunciation and wild, attention-drawing, gesticulations. Steve didn't seem to notice and continued to wave at him to come over. After what seemed an eternity to Julia, in which Hwoarang's eyes burned into hers, he chose to do the polite thing, and come over.

"Alright there, Kerrang?" Steve continued, not realising the embarrassment he was causing himself. "Funny name that, like the magazine, huh? Suits you!" 

Hwoarang met Steve's confident smile with an overly stern stare and Julia mumbled under her breath, "His name's Hwoarang, not Kerrang."

"Ah, sorry mate." Steve apologised, raking his fingers through his hair awkwardly. "Hwoarang, grab a seat." He grinned, brushing his abashment away with ease. "Really, I'm sorry. I've never been any good with names."

"It's fine. I'm used to it." Hwoarang's voice was quiet, and he glanced sidelong at Julia as he took a seat at their table, a gesture which Steve didn't fail to spot. 

"You two friends then?" He asked, looking from one to the other and grinning broadly. Fortunately, Julia was saved from having to make an attempt at explanation by Sally, the globetrotter, who chose this moment to flash her smile at Hwoarang and introduce herself, knowing full well the power of her feminine charms. Julia felt her insides churn at the sight of the bubbly Canadian making eyes at _her_ man. Not that she had any right to call him that. Indeed, she didn't even want to, she reminded herself. She hated Hwoarang. He was a horrible person, who she wanted nothing to do with.

Jealousy was clearly kick started in Steve as well. He very quickly clicked back to full attention mode, telling Hwoarang all the exciting things he'd discovered about Sally in the half hour he'd known her, offering to buy her more drink and lavishing as much attention as was possible. Hwoarang and Julia sat awkwardly beside each other, each sipping their drinks in silence. Julia felt as though the tension would kill her and she fought desperately to keep from shaking. She stared fiercely at the table, painfully aware of every movement he made, she tried to concentrate on the conversation between Steve and the backpacker, but the words just wouldn't register with her brain.

Then she felt him lean closer, his face at her ear. His voice was quiet and breathy as he whispered to her. "I realise that our last meeting didn't go very well, or any of our meetings really, but…" He paused, gathering his thoughts before continuing. "Can we go somewhere private?"


	5. Truce

Disclaimer: I still don't own Tekken.

-*-

The shadows danced across the ceiling, as the electric fan cut through the smoky light of the bar. A noisy group of businessmen cheered on one of their buddies singing at the karaoke machine in one corner, and various groups of friends chatted away at different tables around the room. A man dressed in a dark suit watched as the young couple headed for the door, and then, at a nod from the blond, followed them out.

Julia had made sure to tell Steve she would be back soon, the warning in her voice unmissable. She wasn't going to take any chances with Hwoarang. They stepped through the door into the cool night air, Hwoarang leading her to stand against the wall, a small distance from the entrance to the bar, which was continually being used. The glow from a streetlight above their heads glinted off his red hair, and cast dark shadows on his features. Julia kept the distance between them a little wider than she usually would with a friend, and Hwoarang chuckled at her wariness.

"You don't have to worry so much, I'm not going to try anything, ok." He smiled softly at her, his tone more serious than she had expected. She glared harshly at him, narrowing her eyes. Hwoarang sighed deeply, shaking his head. She was going to be hard work, but he'd always liked a challenge. Tugging his hair back, he continued. "Look, I'm sorry about the other night. I didn't mean to act like that. I've just got a short fuse, y'know?" Julia's stare remained blank and cold, so he struggled on. "I'm not a bad guy, honestly. I was only trying to help… I know I didn't do very well, but we can't all be perfect." His plan worked, and she took the bait, her expression turning from offensive to defensive in an instance.

His innocent gaze made her feel twitchy and irritated. "Oh, you're Mr. Nice Guy all of a sudden? Then why would you want to help me, when I'm such a bad girl?" She folded her arms across her chest and jutted her chin out at him. 

Hwoarang fought to keep a smile from creeping onto his lips. He shrugged, replying simply, "You needed help."

Julia stood silently for a moment, confused by his words. And why was he looking at her like that? She couldn't decide if his nice guy act was genuine or if he were mocking her. His searching eyes looked serious, but a smile seemed to dance intermittently over his features, and she felt he was laughing at her. 

"So?" He leant towards her, drawing her eyes to meet his.

"Huh?" Julia looked up at him, puzzled.

"So do you forgive me?" The smile that he bared looked sincere, rather than mocking, making Julia more unsure of what to think of him.

"I suppose so…" She answered, hesitantly. "As long as you don't do anything like that again." Her warning tone was firm and direct, but his smile still broadened considerably. At least he was making progress with her this time, and her hostility made her all the more attractive.

The conversation was soon interrupted by a small group of rowdy biker-types exiting the bar, clearly having downed a fair amount of alcohol.

"Hey Kerrang!" The first one jeered in their direction. "This place blows! We're heading down town for a bit of fun. You coming?"

"Yeah, you can bring your little girlfriend along, Kerrang!" A second one cackled. They'd obviously noticed Steve's earlier greeting. He lurched over to them and leered at Julia. "I bet you'd like a bit of fun." One slurred, breathing clouds of foul beer-breath at her. She stepped back, a look of disgust crossing her face. The sounds of them gunning their bike engines filled the car park, and Hwoarang was torn between saving face, and sticking with his friends, or staying with Julia. He was tempted to take the drunk's advice, and invite her along, but they were again disturbed.

"Excuse me, Miss Chang. " The man said. He was smartly dressed and she recognised him as one of Steve's minders. She'd noticed them lurking in the background several times when she'd met Steve, and they had driven them to the bar, but they'd never spoken to her before. "Mr. Fox has enquired as to your whereabouts." The bodyguard looked disdainfully at Hwoarang, who looked back, rather disgruntled. The drunk sniggered at the man, lurching his way back over to his friends.

Julia seemed uncertain how to react to the minder's intervention, and Hwoarang chose to make things easier for her. "I'll be heading out then." He nodded his head at her, ignoring the guard. "See you around." He flashed her a wide grin and squeezed her shoulder as he walked past, jogging over to the gang, and leaping on his own bike.

She watched him until the guard placed a firm hand on her shoulder. "Miss Chang." He addressed her, gently steering her back inside the bar. She returned to Steve's table unaccompanied, and he grinned when he saw her. "Have a nice time?" He enquired, winking conspiratorially. 

"Hm…" Julia grunted, dismissively. After another ten minutes she stood, telling Steve she was tired, and was going to return to the hotel. He looked uncomfortable, caught between the desire to stay and continue trying it on with Sally, and his obligation to accompany Julia back to the hotel. "It's ok, I can get a taxi back." She told him, but he still appeared uneasy. 

"I should come with you." He stressed, frowning.

"Really, it's fine!" She said, moving away from the table before he could get up. "Enjoy yourself, I'll see you around." She waved, making her way across the room.

Back in her hotel room, Julia held the phone awkwardly under her chin as she pulled a brush through her tangled hair. "No mother, I promised Xiaoyu I'd go to the end of tournament ceremony, so I can't get an earlier flight." Her mother's voice crackled down the phone line, complaining about wasting G Corporation's money on a hotel room, when she could be back home by now. "I miss you too, mother." She yawned. Her mother had called about ten seconds after she'd got back, and she'd been forced to spend half an hour explaining who Steve was, and what relationship she had with him. Then she'd been interrogated about her break-in at the Mishima Zaibatsu HQ. Although her mother had agreed that it was a worthy cause, she was still just as over-protective and worried about her daughter as any mother, and her questioning made Julia weary.

Julia thanked the spirits that she had avoided mentioning Hwoarang, as she really didn't know how she would handle that line of questioning. She felt guilty lying to her mother, but it was only a small omission really. "Ok, I'll see you on Saturday. I love you too, goodnight. All right, good morning. Yes… Goodbye!" 

She flopped back onto the bed, having finally been able to hang up the phone. After a quick shower, she snuggled down under the bed sheets, and tiredness soon overcame her thoughts of Hwoarang, and she quietly drifted off to sleep. For the first time that week, she managed to sleep soundly, untroubled by the demon of her dreams.


	6. Rescue Mission

Disclaimer: Tekken isn't mine, duh!

-*-

Her deep chestnut-brown eyes stared back at her through long, dark lashes. Shifting her focus slightly, Julia gazed through the window at the shoppers passing by. She was distracted from her thoughts by the till attendant before her, signalling that she was now at the front of the queue. Blinking dazedly, she handed over her purchases and returned to watching the busy people. A sharp cough jolted her back to reality, and she turned to face the girl again. She frowned in confusion at the words spoken to her, and it took a second for her to glance at the till to see how much she owed. Her attention was again flagging as she fumbled in her wallet for the correct notes, and the shop assistant's impatience was evident from her expression. On the way out of the store, she collided heavily with another customer, dropping her bags. Having gathered them up and made it out of the store embarrassed, but unhurt, Julia decided that it was time she took a break.

Ten minutes later, she was sat at a small table in a quiet café, blowing softly on a steaming mug of hot chocolate. It was hopeless, she'd been gift shopping for three hours now, and all she'd bought was a tiny radio for a university friend, and a pair of brown, fingerless leather gloves for herself. 

She was finding it impossible to concentrate on anything for any length of time. Her thoughts were constantly returning to Hwoarang, and their talk last night. His words had puzzled her. On one hand, he seemed so nice, and sincere, and on the other, he seemed to mock her. He thought that she believed she was perfect. That wasn't true, she never thought that. Or did she? She _had_ judged him without knowing him. She had thought that she was somehow better than he was. What a horrible person she was. But who was to say that she hadn't been right about him? He had attacked her, that night, and he hung around with drunks and muggers. However, at times, when they were talking, he'd come across as being so much nicer than she thought he was, and she found herself believing he could be a good guy. What did she really know about? Well, after talking to him, all she could be certain of was that he wasn't an idiot. She'd strongly sensed that he was playing with her: that what he said, he said on purpose.

This line of thought wasn't getting her anywhere… Why couldn't she get him out of her head? Julia looked down at her drink. It had gone cold. Gathering her things, Julia stood and headed to the exit. She made a promise to herself: she was going to shop, and she wasn't going to allow herself to be consumed by thoughts of Hwoarang anymore. It just wasn't healthy. As she stepped out onto the busy street she repeated over and over in her head, 'Shopping, shopping, shopping…' 

"Hi Steve!" Julia called out as she came up behind him.

"Jules! Hey there. Been shopping, huh?" He smiled broadly at her, gesturing to her carrier bags.

Returning his smile, she nodded, and watched as a black limo pulled up.

"Well, this is my ride, I'm afraid. Talk to you later, eh?" Steve said apologetically, as the driver held open the car door for him.

"Oh, sure." She replied, before he left her standing alone in front of the hotel, waving at the car as it disappeared into the distance. As she turned to go in, something caught her eye. Several army vehicles coming along the road, going a little faster than they should. They had no visible signs of what nationality they were, but her mind immediately went to Hwoarang. Glancing around in a frenzy, her attention focused on the valet climbing out of a silver Mercedes, jangling the keys in his hand. Without thinking what she was going, Julia grabbed the keys and jumped into the car, shouting over her shoulder, "I just need to borrow it for a bit!"

"My god, what on Earth am I doing!? What am I doing?" She muttered to herself as she recklessly pulled out into the busy traffic and pursued the army vehicles. They were moving quite quickly, and the Tokyo traffic was terrible. She lost sight of them a couple of times, but luckily managed to find them again. All the time, her mind was racing. Why was she doing this? Had she lost her mind? How did she know that these vans had anything to do with Hwoarang at all? And even if they did, what business was it of hers? How was she going to explain this to her mother?

She pulled up at the side of a large hotel. The vans had disappeared down a ramp into the car park beneath. She sat with the engine running, wondering what to do next, when the sound of gunfire cut through her thoughts. Not really realising what she was doing, Julia rammed the car through the exit barrier and careered down the ramp. Screeching into the car park, the noise of gunfire was deafening, and she saw Hwoarang and Jin sheltered by a van, a huge cloud of smoke and debris billowing behind them. Throwing open the car door, she gestured frantically at them. Without hesitation, the two men leapt up and ran full speed to the car, throwing themselves in. Julia slammed her foot down on the accelerator, driving dangerously fast back out into daylight. She kept up the pace for several blocks, until she was satisfied that there was no pursuit, before slowing down to a more reasonable velocity.

Her grip on the steering wheel was so fierce that her knuckles were white, as she drove mindlessly across Tokyo. The panting of her passengers was gradually slowing, and glancing in the rear view mirror Julia could see Hwoarang's ferocious stare, fixed not on her, but on the Japanese youth beside her in the front seat. The light danced in his eyes like wild fire, matching the blazing strands of hair hanging in a tangled mess about his head. Sweat glistened on his brow, which was furrowed into ugly ridges of anger.

In contrast to the burning fury of the Korean's expression, Jin's calm, stoic gaze was like a rock. Hard, and impenetrable. His eyes were so dark, Julia found it very difficult to tell his mood, or if he felt anything at all. He turned to face her as she looked sidelong at him, and there was something in his stare that made her uneasy. It was as though there was something behind his eyes, a strangely familiar darkness, which she couldn't quite see, but could tell was there, nonetheless. She looked back to the road quickly, not wanting to meet those eyes again.

"Thank you, Julia." Jin's words were slow and steady. He continued to keep his eyes on her, as he spoke. "Could you please let me out here? I have a tournament fight to get to." 

Julia took a deep breath as she pulled over at the side of the road. As he reached for the door handle, she stopped him. "Wait, Jin…" He turned to look at her again. "Um…" She faltered, "Xiaoyu is really worried about you. You should speak to her, let her know you're ok, before you disappear again…" She trailed off, unsure of how this mysterious man would react. 

He looked away from her, pulling up his hood to hide his face before replying. "I will speak to her." 

As Jin made to step out of the car, Hwoarang, who had been silently glaring at him until now lunged forward and grabbed him round the neck. "We'll finish this another time, Kazama!" He hissed, the bitterness of his voice like acid to Julia's ears. Jin silently removed Hwoarang's arm and stood up. As he walked away, Hwoarang called after him. "Who are you fighting?"

Jin stopped, not looking back at them, and his words hit like a hammer on an anvil. "My father." With that, he left, walking away down the street.

Hwoarang clambered into the front seat as Julia started driving again, grumbling various swear words as he settled down. "I will beat him. Next time, I'll beat him." He stated, more to himself than to her. His words were wrathful and harsh, and he clenched and unclenched his fists angrily as his eyes cast around, searching for something to glare at. They drove on in silence for another 15 minutes, before Hwoarang regained enough composure to make conversation. "So what are you doing here?" His voice snapped at her a little more severely than he had intended.

Waveringly, she tried to explain. "I saw the army vehicles, so I thought…" She stopped, until he probed her to continue. "Well, I knew that you're AWOL, so… I thought they might be here for you and…"

"How did you know that?!" Anger and suspicion sounded in his voice, and Julia swallowed nervously. She felt unsafe being so close to him when he was in such a foul mood.

"I guessed. Your profile on the tournament website said you were in the army, but you're here in Tokyo."

He seemed to be satisfied with this explanation. "So why did you help me? What happened to me being a bad guy?" He snarled his words at her, and her faith in her original view of him was quickly being restored.

Shrugging, she answered him as he had answered her the previous night. "You needed help." His eyes burned into the side of her head, as she kept her eyes firmly fixed on the road. After a moment, his face broke into a wide grin, and he chuckled at her. She was quite taken aback by the sudden shift in his mood.

Raking back his hair he looked around the vehicle, before quizzing her with a wicked smirk. "I didn't realise you had a car…"

Julia's cheeks flushed red, the impact of what she'd done hitting home. "I kind of… stole it." She explained.

Hwoarang continued to smirk. "So you really _are_ a bad girl, after all." There was no doubt about the mocking in his voice this time. Julia ground her teeth together, staring fiercely at the road. She hated the way he was making her feel like a fool, when it should be him that was ashamed. He was the one who was AWOL, and he was the one who'd been getting into fights in parking lots. She shouldn't have to put up with his superior attitude. After all, she had saved his life. "What're we gonna do now?" He asked, stretching back in his seat, grinning at her, cockily. She threw him a furious glance and didn't answer. Sitting up and turning a savage gaze upon her, he snarled his next words. "You got yourself into this. Don't go blaming me just because you're not perfect all the time!"

"I've never thought I was perfect!" She snapped back, her anger building.

"You could have fooled me!" He retorted, and she was afraid he might strike her.

"Well if you're much better than me, then you tell me what we're going to do now!" She spat out.

Hwoarang glowered at her for what felt like an eternity, before he spoke. When he did, his voice was quiet, his anger controlled. "You could start by going somewhere, instead of driving around in circles."

Breathing deeply, Julia nodded silently. "I don't know my way around Tokyo."

"Ok. I can give directions. You can take me back to my apartment. You know your way to the hotel form there, don't you?" His voice was now calm, and they were both working hard not to lose their tempers again.

"Yes, I think so." Julia glanced at him quickly. She was still very tense, and he made her so nervous and angry she was afraid she'd be sick, or pass out. He was staring ahead now, and he began to direct her, his instructions sharp and to the point.

Drawing the car to a halt, Julia peered over the steering wheel at the camouflage-green van parked near the other end of the street. "It looks like they're watching your place." She stated the obvious, and Hwoarang let out a long sigh.

"Great…" He mumbled. "So what'll I do now?"

They sat silently for a few minutes, before Julia worked up the courage to give a suggestion. "I guess you could… stay with me." 


	7. A Night Together

A/n: Thank you, everyone who's read or reviewed this fic! I've had a few questions from reviewers, so here goes. Firstly, Iris Omega, I presume by "bad", you mean sex… I rated this pg-13, and I'm sticking to that rating. It wouldn't be fair to bump it up after younger people started reading it. That doesn't mean I'm not going to write higher-rated stuff in the future (My next fic, actually. But you'll just have to wait for that.) As for when they'll fall in love, I don't remember saying they would… ;)

As for Kazzy's question about Jin/Hwoarang: I also had the feeling they were sort of friends from Hwoarang's ending, but in his ending, he beat Jin. I realise I didn't make it clear, but they were interrupted by the army guys before the fight was over, so Hwoarang still wasn't satisfied. I don't really view them as enemies, that's too strong. However, they are rivals, and I wanted to play up Hwoarang's temper a bit.

Disclaimer: Oh, I can't be bothered, you know already, right?

-*-

Julia sat perched on the end of her bed, once more flicking through TV channels, trying not to concentrate on the sound of the shower running in the bathroom. Scanning the place, her eyes fell yet again upon the grubby rucksack discarded carelessly on the floor. Her thoughts wandered aimlessly through all its possible contents, and caught up in her imagination, she jumped in surprise as the lock clicked on the bathroom door and he swung it open. She looked up at his muscular figure, framed in the doorway. "That impressive, am I?" Hwoarang mumbled, not removing the toothbrush wedged in his mouth and flexing his muscles cockily. 

"Don't kid yourself!" She sneered, arching an eyebrow. She turned her head away, feigning interest in the television to hide her blush. She'd never admit it, but with him stood before her in his figure-hugging jeans, his damp chest bare and glistening under the hotel room lights, she _was_ quite impressed.

"You got a hairdryer?" He asked, pacing the room to stand before her, hand on hip, looking around. Julia couldn't help but bristle at how comfortable he seemed when her insides felt like they were filled with a flock of swans, rather than butterflies.

She gestured towards the bedside table. "Over there." She averted her eyes from him again. His semi-nakedness was not doing her nerves any good at all. Grabbing the device he headed back into the bathroom, mumbling what sounded vaguely like a thank you over his shoulder. Julia relaxed a little once he'd disappeared from sight. She still wasn't sure why on earth she'd told him he could stay here. Though she'd probably have been in trouble if she hadn't. She still had no idea what he'd said to the police officer, which worried her a bit. But at least she hadn't been arrested, or deported. His language skills were considerably more developed than hers. She'd just about mastered how to say hello and thank you in Japanese, and this was her second trip here. 

Everything had seemed fine once they'd stopped yelling at each other and he was helping her out, but now that the reality of a night alone together was finally becoming clear, she felt sick with nerves. She wasn't sure why though. It wasn't like anything was going to happen, she'd been very clear about the no funny business rule. And she'd spent the night with a guy before, although Hwoarang was very different from the other guys she knew. She really had to get over her nervousness about him. She was normally so confident around people. 

Having decided that she wasn't going to allow herself to be afraid of him anymore, she looked up at him surely when he again emerged from the other room. "It's only 9, you wanna go out or something?" She asked, brightly.

Hwoarang gave her a slightly surprised glance and walked over to his rucksack. "I dunno." He shrugged, grabbing a T-shirt from the bag and pulling it over his head. "Somewhere you want to go?"

"Oh…" Julia hadn't thought that far ahead. Before she could come up with a response, he interrupted her.

"I'm not really that bothered about going out…" He flopped himself down on the bed beside her and grabbed the remote. "I haven't watched TV for over a year."

"A year? Wow!" Julia was a little taken aback by this. She'd imagined him as being the sort of person who was out, all night, every night. Not sat comfortably in front of a TV.

"Yeah, well. There's not much time for television in the army…" His tone was hard, and his feelings about his time doing service were clear. "You got any beer?" He was on his feet again, sauntering over to the minibar.

Julia frowned at him. "I think there might be some in there…" She told him. It seemed that she wasn't going to be able to get him out into public. She'd hoped having other people around might help her feel more at ease, but he didn't appear at all interested in going anywhere. She watched his back as he leant into the minibar, scouring its contents for what he wanted. He straightened up, beer in hand and turned to ask if she wanted anything. His smile reached his eyes, giving them a strange sparkle, as he looked at her enquiringly, his deep gaze searching hers. "Julia?" He waved his hand in front of her face, his warm smile taking on a smirking edge. "Huh? Oh, no. I'm fine thanks." She said hurriedly, looking back to the TV screen, embarrassed.

"You sure you're not interested in any 'funny business'?" He teased, sitting down next to her and nudging her playfully.

"No!" She snapped, moving away form him quickly to sit on the armchair by the window. She glared at him crossly, as he sighed and lay back on the bed, channel hopping nonchalantly. They passed the rest of the evening in uneasy silence. Hwoarang was fairly engrossed in the television, but Julia just sat letting various thoughts wander through her mind, the programs meaningless to her.

Hwoarang sat up and blinked into the darkness of the room. His neck was stiff and sore from sleeping on the chair. Peering through the blackness, he searched for what had woken him. A gasp from the bed caught his attention and his eyes began to focus on the shape of Julia. She was tossing restlessly under the sheets; her breathing seemed laboured, and unsteady. "Julia?" He whispered, but she didn't answer him. She was lying still and he was just about to go back to sleep when she gave a rather violent lurch and called something indistinguishable under her breath.

Quickly, he made his way to the bed, and leant over her. Beads of sweat stood out on her brow and her chest rose and fell rapidly. Through the shadows he could make out the twitching of her closed eyes and the way her body was trembling. He remembered how her sleep had been uneasy the night he'd taken her back to his place, and he assumed that she must suffer from nightmares a lot. He reached down and shook her gently, whispering her name.

The burning sun of the desert was suddenly replaced by darkness as Julia's eyes sprang open. She sat up, shaking and gasping for breath, clinging to the body in front of her. Eyes wide open, she stared frightened into the dark as warm arms wrapped round her, stroking the back of her head soothingly. She dug her nails in, holding on tight to the reality of the room she was in, shaking away the horror of the demon and the desert. She blinked back tears, fighting the stinging behind her eyes as she gradually brought her breathing under control.

"It's ok, it's just a dream." She heard him murmur in her ear, and that was enough to tip the tears over the edge. Burying her head in his shoulder, sobs wracked her body. He didn't let go, but held her securely in his arms, rocking her gently, smoothing her hair with his hand. Eventually her sobs subsided, and he pushed her back gently, so he could see her face. She stared down away from him, ashamed of what had happened. He softly stroked her cheek, his fingers delicately brushing away her tears, and tilting her face towards his. She stared up into his eyes, misery clear in her expression, and he leant in cautiously, brushing his lips against hers in the lightest of touches. When she didn't pull away, he pressed against her more firmly, his kiss warm and reassuring. She sank helplessly into it, too exhausted by her nightmare to worry about the consequences. 

Pulling away from her, he ran his fingers through her hair, pulling it back from her face. His dark eyes focused on her own, filled with concern. "Are you alright?" He asked quietly. She nodded, smiling weakly at him, not able to give a stronger response.

It wasn't until several hours later that they went back to bed. They stayed up, talking for a long time about their lives. Julia told him all about growing up on the Indian reserve with her mother, about learning about nature and all the beauty in the world. She talked about bareback horse riding and watching buffalo grazing on the plains. She told him about her studying at university and her work with G Corporation, and she explained about the nightmares. 

In return, he told her about how his mother had thrown him out when he was still very young and how he'd never known his father. He talked of living and training at the dojo with Baek, and how he had been like the father he'd never had. He talked about street life, and learning how to get money out of foolish tourists. And he explained his feud with Jin Kazama. He talked about life in the military, and how despondent it made him feel. He told her about how defeating Jin was the only real goal he had.

"But that can't be good for you! Seeking nothing but revenge is no way to live." She gasped.

"How else should I live? There is nothing else for me in life…" Julia was worried by how uncaring he seemed.

"Everyone should have a target in life." She told him, her voice filled with passion.

"A target?"

"Yes, a goal to aim for. A dream for the future, something positive they wish to obtain. My dream is to save my homeland. It is what I work for, and hope for. It is the dream of one day succeeding, which makes me happy." Hwoarang listened to her words, brimming with her love for her land, and her work to save it. "You shouldn't allow such a petty dispute to consume you. We all need something to shoot for, something that will make us happy." She smiled at him, hoping he understood what she meant.

For a while he stared off into space, deep in thought. When he turned to her he smiled, though his eyes seemed troubled. "I guess I don't have a target…"

"Oh… I'm sure you just haven't found it yet." She suggested, feeling a strange sadness for him.

Hmm… I'm tired, reckon I'll try getting back to sleep." He told her, stifling a yawn, and clambering off the bed.

Julia watched, a little disappointed as he sat himself back down in the armchair, preparing to go to sleep. "Right, ok. I guess I should try and catch up on my sleep." She said quietly, rolling over and flicking off the light. "Goodnight." She whispered, but there was no reply.


	8. Cleansing Rituals

A/n: Sorry I haven't updated for a while… I've been busy with university and stuff. And also starting a new fan fiction, On the Prowl. But I'm back now!

-*-

The shrill beeping of the alarm clock cut painfully through her sleepy brain and Julia's tired hand fumbled around the desk, searching for her glasses. Slipping them on, she blinked groggily at the electric green digits as they jumped sharply into focus: 7:00. A loud groan from behind her signalled that the alarm had also succeeded in rousing her companion, and she quickly batted the off button, silencing the contraption. In the silence that followed, Hwoarang could be heard cursing quietly to himself and moving around. Julia flopped her head back down on the pillow, not sure she was ready to face the day yet.

"What the hell kinda time do you call this?!" The red head complained, his usual bad temper back with a vengeance.

Pulling herself up to a sitting position, she let out a long breath. "I'm sorry. I forgot it was set… It's so I didn't miss the hotel breakfast, I kept sleeping in." She explained quietly, staring down at her lap. Embarrassment about the previous night made her reluctant to look at him, and so she studied the ugly floral patterning of the bed sheets instead.

"Ah damn, 7am?" He grumbled, checking the clock over her shoulder. "Well, I guess I could do with some food." He stood up, yawning and stretching.

"Oh… I'm not sure they'll let you have breakfast down in the dining room. Technically you're not meant to be here." She informed him, tugging awkwardly at her hair and swinging her legs out of the bed.

"You mean I have to go hungry? Shit…" Hwoarang objected, kicking at his backpack angrily.

"We can call for room service." Julia suggested, his temper making her uncomfortable as usual. "Breakfast in bed?" She smiled weakly at him, heading over to the bathroom.

"Now that I like the sound of!" He said with satisfaction, slumping back down in the armchair and grinning at her. "Where you goin'?"

"Shower." She answered over her shoulder, closing the bathroom door behind her and therefore missing Hwoarang's mischievous smile. 

Julia closed her eyes and lifted her face to the hot, soothing water, washing away her tiredness. Running her fingers through her hair, she felt a soft, cool breeze on her back, and gasped in surprise as a pair of well toned arms snaked there way round her waist.

"Mmmm…" Hwoarang mumbled, nuzzling her neck gently. Shocked, Julia tried to squirm out of his grasp, and he released her reluctantly.

"What do you think you're doing!?" She barked, trying to protect her modesty in the cramped shower cubicle, and making an effort not to look at his.

"I just thought, after last night…" He leaned in close, softly brushing her cheek with the end of his nose.

"Get off!" She yelled, shoving him away from her and folding her arms across her chest protectively. A furious scowl marred her usually peaceful face and she glared straight at him.

He met her stare head on, his eyes sparking with emotion, fuelled by her rejection. He made no effort to hide himself and instead stood open and receptive before her, a seductive smile upon his lips. "Are you sure?" He asked, looking deep into her eyes.

Her brows knitted together in an intense frown as she averted her eyes from his nakedness and subconsciously squeezed herself into the furthest corner of cubicle. "Yes." She muttered quietly.

"Fine." Hwoarang said with a sigh, turning away from her, but rather than leave the shower, he reached over for the shower gel and poured a large dollop into his hand. Julia stood gaping, mouth open, stunned by his audacity as he proceeded to lather himself up. "You know." He called over his shoulder. "If you're not interested then do you mind not staring please? I'm shy." Julia could feel his smirk without having to see it. Dragging her eyes away from him, she turned away to face the wall, confused about how to handle such a situation. She ran her hands up her arms as goose bumps covered her exposed skin. Hwoarang was very deliberately hogging all the water from the shower and Julia stood dazed, shivering in the back corner of the cubicle. 

She felt the anger start to boil up inside her as he began humming cheerfully. How dare he do this to her! Finally managing to gather her wits enough that she felt she could deal with him, she spun round to face him, ready to throw him out as forcefully as necessarily. However, before she had a chance to speak, he had sealed her lips with his own, pushing her back against the wall. Pushing his tongue inside her mouth and running his hands over her body, he was sending shivers up her spine and making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. She stared panic-stricken at him and he stared straight back, kissing her with open eyes. The fire in his gaze mesmerised her for a moment and she found herself responding to his kiss without thought. Another second later, her mind snapped back into control and she pushed him away. 

"I don't get you at all!" He snapped at her, swiping his fingers through his tangled wet hair and turning away angrily. "You're clearly interested, I don't get why you're being so stubborn. Damn tease!" He protested, exiting the cubicle and slamming the door behind him. Julia sank back trembling against the wall of the shower. "What am I going to do?" She asked herself morosely. He was right, she was attracted to him, more than she'd ever been attracted to anyone else. But she didn't want to give in to that attraction. She knew in her heart that he would only hurt her. He wasn't interested in anything lasting. She'd probably never see him again after she left Japan and she desperately didn't want to fall in love, only to have it taken from her. He didn't want a relationship, he'd use her for sex, and then leave. She couldn't cope with that. But she was afraid she was already in too deep. She should never have helped him.

Hwoarang was sat on the end of the bed wearing just a pair of jeans, and tugging a comb through his hair with some difficulty when she finally worked up the courage to come out of the bathroom. He cast her an unflattering glance as she entered the room and returned to working the tangles out of his mane, cranking up the volume on the TV unnecessarily. She took the hint and went silently across to the bedside table and picked up the room service menu, scanning it discontentedly. 

Hwoarang emitted soft growls intermittently as the comb caught on a knot and Julia would have suggested he conditioned it, if it weren't for the fact that he was so clearly angry. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she saw the way he was working his jaw, clenching his teeth. His movements were jerky and violent and his glare upon the TV was so fierce she suspected he could blow it up just by looking at it. There was no way she wanted to risk talking to him in that mood. However, her stomach decided to do the talking for her, letting out a loud and embarrassing rumble. The Korean stopped what he was doing and turned to look at her, raising an eyebrow. She folded her arms around her stomach and he chuckled at her. Tossing the comb on the floor he shuffled round beside her on the bed and took the menu from her. "So we gonna order room service then?" He asked, a hint of hostility still audible at the edge of his voice.

Once their food had arrived, they sat eating in uneasy silence, neither looking at the other. Julia fixed her eyes on her food, nibbling delicately at it, making an effort to be as inconspicuous as possible. Hwoarang on the other hand, guzzled down his food as though he expected someone to take it away any second. It took Julia a great deal of control not to stare at him as he devoured everything in seconds. Once he'd finished his own food, he sat watching her food, as if waiting for it to run away. Eventually she offered some of it to him, and he consumed it gratefully. 

The awkwardness between them gradually lifted and soon the atmosphere felt more comfortable. Having finished off all the food, they lay back on the bed, side by side and Hwoarang asked what her plans for the day were.

"I'm supposed to meet Xiaoyu at the end of tournament ceremony." She explained.

"Hmm…" Hwoarang exhaled, considering this. "I wonder who won?"

"I dunno." She responded, thinking about how Xiaoyu would react to the news that she'd spent the night with Hwoarang. She thought it might be best not to mention the shower incident. Xiaoyu was always a little too excited by things like that, and Julia still hadn't worked out her own feelings about the event.

"Xiaoyu's that little Chinese kid?" He asked.

"Uh huh."

"Well I guess I could stand a day hanging around with her." He mused, getting up. "When do we go?"

Julia wasn't expecting this, she'd figured he'd just go his own way today. She hadn't thought he'd be interested in going with her, and how would she explain this to her friend?


	9. Confessions

A/n: Thanks again to all my readers, I hope you're all enjoying this ^_^ 

Disclaimer: I don't currently own Tekken, but I've been working hard on my powers of mind control, and I'm confident that when I visit Namco's headquarters in the near future they will agree to had it over. Mwahahaha!

-*-

"I'm going to die. I'm going to die!" Julia was whispering furiously under her breath as the buildings on either side whizzed past in a blur. Her braids flew out behind her, snaking wildly around and bouncing off her back whenever they changed direction, and she held on to Hwoarang for dear life. Just as she was finally beginning to relax and enjoy the ride, it was over. Her cheeks were flushed and her body shook invisibly from the adrenaline coursing through her system as she climbed off the bike.

Leaping off beside her Hwoarang grinned at the way she was swaying a little as she stood on the pavement, trying to look comfortable, despite the fact that she was still unstable after the journey. "Enjoy that?" he asked cockily. 

"Just like horse riding," she replied, flashing her most confident smile, before turning and heading into the building. Smirking, Hwoarang followed her in. 

Inside, Julia took a moment to survey her surroundings. The Mishima Zaibatsu's main lobby was vast, decorated with deep blue wall hangings, which shone as though made of silk. The room was lit not from above, but from soft, twinkling lights set beneath the glass panelling which made up the floor. Walking across the room was like walking across a field of stars. Stood inconspicuously in the shadows around the perimeter of the room, she recognised the Tekken Force soldiers she had encountered the other night. The lifeless eyes of their masks watched them silently as they entered.

"Excuse me, Ms. Chang?" a stern looking man, wearing an ugly grey suit approached from one side of the room.

"Yes?" Julia replied, frowning at him.

"I'm afraid to inform you that the end of tournament ceremony has been cancelled. Your friend Ms. Ling asked that I pass this message on to you," he explained, proffering a folded slip of white paper.

Silently, Julia accepted the note. The man nodded curtly, and gestured that they should leave, when Hwoarang stepped in front of him, demanding that he explain what was going on. "Where's Mishima? Who won the tournament?!" he questioned, angry sparks flashing in his eyes, and he moved threateningly close to the man. The man, who Julia guessed was a lawyer, merely blinked lazily at the red head, and a couple of the guards stepped quietly from the shadows, enforcing their presence. Hwoarang may have been hot headed, but he was no fool when it came to being on the wrong end of a gun. Casting ferocious looks at the figures in the room he turned towards the exit. Julia followed him outside and stood silently, watching as he cursed and kicked at the pavement, at the walls of the building, his bike, and probably her if she'd been silly enough to go that close.

After a few moments, his annoyance subsided and he turned to look at her. "Well? What does the note say?" he asked bitterly.

"Oh," she said, glancing down at the bit of paper in her hand, "I haven't read it yet." Unfolding it, she scanned the messy scrawling her friend had left her. 

'Hi Jules,

They say the ceremony is cancelled and I can't stay here, so me and some of the other fighters are going down to Pizza City to hang out. It's about 10 minutes away, so come meet me there, ok?

Luv 'n' hugs,

Xiao xxxxx'

"She says she's gone to Pizza City with some of the other fighters, and I should meet her there," she told him, looking up from the message.

"Hmm… that's not far. Come on," he directed, climbing back on his bike.

Julia hung her head in an attempt to hide the reddening of her cheeks as Xiaoyu's eyes flitted back and forth between her and Hwoarang as they walked into the restaurant together. She looked as though she might explode from the shock of it, but before she had a chance to comment, another voice interjected. "Hey Jules! And Ke… uh, Ho… Hwoarang, knew I'd get it in the end," Steve declared, with a triumphant smile. "Come and join us!" Steve grabbed a chair from the next table and pulled it over.

"Hi Julia," Miharu, Xiaoyu's school friend smiled shyly at her. They'd only met once, the week before. Xiaoyu just continued to stare at Hwoarang, her eyes wide, and her mouth slightly agape.

"Xiaoyu, I think you're drooling a bit," Hwoarang informed her, taking a seat next to Steve and smirking to himself at the way this made both Julia and Xiaoyu blush.

Xiaoyu made a little humph noise as Julia took a seat next to her, and turned to her friend for an explanation. "It's not what it looks like!" Julia whispered desperately, but Xiaoyu just narrowed her eyes at her. 

Fortunately, she was again interrupted before having to try and explain anything to her friend. "Hey there! I'm Christie Monteiro," a bronzed girl with a mass of brown hair and a rather loud shirt smiled at her from across the table, and Julia realised that she hadn't bothered to look at who else was there.

"I'm Julia, Julia Chang," she responded, returning the girl's smile.

"And you?" Christie questioned Hwoarang, a flirtatious smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eyes that made Julia's insides squirm.

"Hwoarang," he told her, eyeing her up and grinning broadly.

"Wow, that's an interesting name. Where you from?" she asked, leaning towards him over the table.

Julia stared downwards, pretending to be fascinated by her fingernails. Not wanting her jealousy to show. "So what happened about the tournament ceremony?" she asked Xiaoyu, trying to distract herself as much as anyone from the subject of why she was with Hwoarang. 

"I wanted to thank you," Xiaoyu said quietly, her serious tone surprising Julia. "I spoke to Jin… He came to see me, last night," she continued. "He met his father, and defeated him. And he defeated Heihachi. But he had to leave again, because Heihachi wants him dead. But he said that he spoke to you, and he didn't want me to worry about him, because he'll be ok." Xiaoyu spoke softly, and sighed wistfully to herself. The two girls sat in silence for a few minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Miharu sat beside them, fiddling with a napkin, and Steve was busy explaining the mess about who would take over the zaibatsu to Hwoarang. It turned out that although both his son and grandson had defeated Heihachi, the pair had disappeared, so it was most likely that Heihachi would maintain control of his empire.

Emerging eventually from her thoughts, Xiaoyu decided that it was about time she found out just what was going on between her friend and the Korean red head. Standing up, she announced to the whole group that she was going to the toilet. "Come on Julia!" she commanded, grabbing her hand and pulling her off before she had a chance to react.

"Why are they going together?" Steve asked, shaking his head in wonder. "Girls are so weird."

"Hmm… I feel like I'm missing out on some juicy gossip, maybe I should go join them," Christie suggested.

"You better not, Xiao would kill you if you interrupted her mid-interrogation," Miharu explained.

"Ah damn, now I'm really curious!" Steve groaned. "This got something to do with you?" he asked, turning to look at Hwoarang, who just shrugged sheepishly.

"Well? Are you going out with him?" Xiaoyu blurted out, as soon as the bathroom door shut behind them.

Leaning on the sink, Julia examined her reflection in the mirror. Tracing the dark shadows under her eyes with a fingertip, she told Xiaoyu that there was absolutely nothing going on between her and Hwoarang. 

"But you were on his bike with him! And Jin said that you drove off with him yesterday, after he left." Xiaoyu responded. 

"So I gave him a lift, and he gave me one. That doesn't mean anything's going on," Julia told her, though she knew it was hopeless trying to convince Xiaoyu. She was probably already picking out her bridesmaid dress in her mind. Taking a deep breath, she told Xiaoyu all about meeting Hwoarang at the bar, about seeing the army vehicles, and going to rescue him. "And they were watching his place, so he stayed at my hotel last night," she finished, mumbling the last words in the vain hope that Xiaoyu would miss their significance.

Naturally, Xiaoyu did no such thing. "You slept with him!" she squealed excitedly, her wide eyes sparkling wickedly.

"No!" Julia protested. "He slept on the armchair."

"Huh?" Xiaoyu sighed disappointedly. "So absolutely nothing happened?"

"No."

"You didn't even kiss?" At this, a shadow briefly flickered across Julia's features and Xiaoyu clicked that she wasn't getting the whole truth. "Oh my god, you did kiss him!" she cried, and Julia was afraid that the people in the restaurant might hear.

"No…" she whispered softly under her breath, hanging her head sadly. "He kissed me, and I wish he hadn't."

As over-excitable and hungry for gossip as she was, Xiaoyu could still tell that her friend was upset about this. "You can talk to me about it, it's ok," she comforted, placing her hand gently on Julia's back, and looking at her with eyes full of concern.

Leaning her back against the wall, Julia raised her head and stared up at the ceiling. She took a few deep breaths before continuing, fighting not to be overcome by tears. She told Xiaoyu what had happened with Hwoarang, when she'd had the nightmare, and then in the shower that morning.

"You saw him naked?!" Xiaoyu screeched, distracted form her Julia's sombre mood by the content of her words. "So what's he like? Is he, you know, uh… down there?" she grinned cheekily, making suggestive hand movements. 

"Xiao…" Julia sighed. "I didn't really look."

"Oh, right. Sorry," Xiaoyu said, clearly disappointed at not being drawn a full diagram.

"It's just…" Julia went on, "he makes me so angry, and we've had more arguments in the last week than I've had with anyone in my entire life. But at the same time, I want him. I want to be with him so badly."

"So why'd you throw him out of the shower?" Xiaoyu moaned, exasperated by her friend's confusing actions. "I'd have done it with him right there," she announced. "He's hot!"

"Well you can have him then, because I don't want him," Julia responded, tugging at one of her braids angrily, annoyed at herself for getting in this situation.

"But you just said you did!" Xiaoyu growled, equally irritated at how irrational and inconsistent Julia was being.

"No, I want him to want me!" Julia explained. "I want him to care about me, but he never will. He cares more about fighting and revenge that he ever will about anything else. It's not fair…" Julia stared blankly into space, unsure what to do now that she'd finally said what she'd been feeling.

"Oh…" Xiaoyu gasped delicately. "Are you sure about that? Maybe you should tell him," she suggested. She didn't like to see her friend so lost in sadness. Julia had always been so happy and light. Xiaoyu didn't realise that she could get like this about a guy.

"There's no point…" Julia replied quietly.

Xiaoyu really wasn't happy about how Julia was acting. She had to do something to cheer her up. "You know, I think you're taking the whole thing way too seriously!" she stated, turning away from her friend and playing with her hair in the mirror. "So what if he's not going to fall desperately in love with you, and never think about anything else. You've only known him for like a week, so you can't really be in love with him, you hardly know him. The way I see it, since he's not looking for a serious relationship, why should you? I say you have as much fun with him as possible. If he leaves and you never see him again, then at least you had a good time. And you never know, you might be so incredible that he comes crawling back to you, wanting more!" Xiaoyu grinned at her as cheerfully as possible, and hoped that Julia would take this new philosophy on board.

There was a long pause as Julia digested what Xiaoyu had said. It had only been a week since she'd met him… and she really hadn't spent that much time speaking to him. They always ended up fighting anyway; he'd be a terrible long-term boyfriend. She looked up at her friend and smiled. "You're right, I'm just being silly. I shouldn't be getting so worked up about this. I should be having fun! He's just some bad-tempered street thug who has nothing good to offer. I don't want him." With a nod to confirm her new viewpoint, Julia headed back out into the restaurant, determined not to obsess about her feelings for Hwoarang. After all, she didn't have any. Xiaoyu followed behind her, worried that what she'd said hadn't had quite the right effect.


	10. Strut Your Stuff

A/n: Although this has no relevance to this story, I did finally get around to tracking down a Japanese website with stuff about Hwoarang on it, which confirmed that he is indeed South Korean, not North Korean. I'd assumed this anyway, though it would have been funny if it had been otherwise. Could have had him declaring that he owes all his fighting prowess to the grace of Kim Il Sung, like the people do in the North Korean propaganda movies, very amusing. And I also found that the Japanese pronunciation of his name is Faran (I knew it was something like that, but I didn't know any Japanese when I started playing Tekken), which is very similar to the Scottish name Farran… and much easier to spell than Hwoarang. Imagine him in a kilt… they'd have to sensor all those high kicks. Well, that's enough of my irrelevant babbling for now. On with the story!

Disclaimer: Tekken belongs to Namco, not me.

-*-

People swept aside like the tide to allow the group to pass through the room, and the sense of power it gave made Julia's body tingle with energy. Walking in the group with Hwoarang and Steve on the outside was amazing. Their tall, muscular physiques had an immediate influence on those around, and with Julia, Xiaoyu and Christie walking confidently between them, they radiated power and strength, and no one wanted to get in their way. Even Xiaoyu, with her small figure was a part of their aura, and she loved the feeling. By themselves, each of the fighters didn't really stand out, unless they wanted to, but together, they made quite an impact.

As they entered a clearing on the dance floor, Christie spun out in front, immediately being taken over by the rhythm of the music. She moved seductively, her dance style not unlike that of an exotic dancer. She wriggled her body, twisting and turning in time to the beat, making full use of the tiny hotpants she'd squeezed herself into. The others needed no more encouragement, and quickly took their own places on the floor, each moving to the music in their own special way. 

Julia danced from her hips, her feet staying rooted to the ground as she swayed and moved, unable to move as freely as Christie in her figure-hugging denim skirt. Instead she used her arms more, raising them above her head, showing off the flared sleeves of her black lace top and her curvy shape as she wiggled around, running her fingers through her hair.

Xiaoyu in contrast bounced up and down on the spot, jiggling to the music. Even in her little strappy red dress, with her hair down, she looked considerably younger than the other girls did. She still did her best to look sexy, but since Miharu had decided not to come, and Julia was playing at being a femme fatale, she was feeling a little out of her league. The guys definitely seemed to be more interested in the other girls.

Hwoarang moved his feet a lot as he danced, throwing in a couple of proper dance steps, rather than just general movements. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on Julia the whole time, but she paid him no attention. Beside Hwoarang's showy actions, Steve just seemed to lurch about. Dancing obviously wasn't his thing, but at least he was making an effort, and he was clearly enjoying having the company of the young women. He beamed happily, sticking as close to them as possible, getting a good eyeful of Christie's ass and Julia's cleavage. 

They all stayed relatively close to each other, and there was a small space between the fighters and the other people in the club, but they seemed oblivious to this, all caught up in watching each other. Christie was trying to coax Xiaoyu into dancing more adventurously, taking her hands and encouraging the less confident girl to move with her. Julia danced with her eyes closed, listening to the music and letting it distract her from the others, and Hwoarang, unable to catch her eye, was growing less enthusiastic about dancing by the second.

Xiaoyu sat watching Julia chatting away to Steve on the other side of the table, not paying any attention to Christie, who was busy complementing her on her talent for dancing, and how she should take lessons. She'd have been enjoying herself much more, if it hadn't been for the fact that she could see how mad her friend was driving the Korean. She didn't buy Julia's act for one second. Nobody goes from being that interested in someone to not noticing him at all in a few hours. Hwoarang was sat swigging on a beer, his chair pushed back from the table, detached from the rest of the group. His mood was clearly dark.

"Hey Xiao, are you listening?" she heard Christie asking her, and turned towards her apologetically. 

"Sorry," she said, smiling weakly.

Christie frowned at her, then looked at the others. "Come on, lets go talk about it," she said, holding out her hand to Xiaoyu, who was a little perplexed by this, but got up with her anyway. 

"Where you goin'?" Steve questioned, looking up as they made to leave.

Christie turned and smiled cheekily at him, tapping the side of her nose. "Girl stuff!"

"Argh, I hate that!" he complained, turning back to Julia. "Well, coming back out there?" he gestured at the dance floor.

"Sure thing!" she replied enthusiastically.

"You coming, mate?" Steve asked Hwoarang, who merely shook his head and held his drink up in response.

Back on the dance floor, the music had slowed down and Steve moved closer to Julia as she danced. Trying not to think about where Xiaoyu had gone, or what Hwoarang was doing, Julia decided that she was going to enjoy herself and just let whatever happens happen. Smiling at Steve, she slid her hands over her body, lifting her head and closing her eyes. As she moved in time to the music, she felt him move in closer, gently sliding his large hands around her waist, pulling her closer to him. Yielding to his grip, she smiled, opening her eyes to look at him. 

She was just in time to see an angry fist fly past her face and impact with the side of Steve's head, closely followed by a blurred mass of red hair, forcing the boxer away from her. Steve was only dazed for a second, and he quickly retaliated, throwing a quick, hard punch at Hwoarang's face, sending him flying backwards. However, the Korean recovered immediately, catching Steve on the upper chest with a powerful kick, knocking him into the other people on the dance floor. Screams ran out through the room and the music stopped abruptly. As Hwoarang moved to hit the Brit again, Julia shrieked at him to stop it, grabbing at his arm to stop him attacking Steve again. He cast her a furious glare before shaking off her grip and turning and storming angrily out of the club, pushing an approaching bouncer to the ground as he went.

"What the hell's your problem?! Bloody moron!" Steve shouted after him angrily, getting to his feet. He groaned, rubbing his chest, "Fuck, that guy can kick…" 

Julia faced him, a shocked expression on her face. "I'm sorry," she stuttered, looking at him worriedly.

"Not your fault the bloke's a psycho," Steve growled.

"What happened?" a distressed looking Xiaoyu appeared beside them.

"Mr. Psycho went mad and attacked me is what bloody happened!" Steve snapped at her.

Xiaoyu jumped, startled by his outburst and a hurt expression clouded her face. "You mean Hwoarang?" Julia nodded. "Well that was bound to happen sooner or later, the way he's been staring at you all day," Xiaoyu sighed.

"So there _is_ something going on between you and him?" Steve snarled at Julia. "Coulda warned me…" He spun round and walked off grumpily. Julia turned to look at her friend, as her bottom lip began to tremble.

Julia flicked the light on as she entered the hotel room, sending the shadows into hiding. Xiaoyu followed her in and they both sat on the bed, still a bit dazed after the night's events. Julia stared inattentively at the ragged backpack lying on the ground beside the bed. "Do you think he'll come back for it?" she asked quietly.

Xiaoyu followed Julia's gaze and shrugged. "I dunno. Depends if there's anything important in it, I suppose," she replied. "Do you want me to stay, just in case?"

"No, it's ok. I doubt he'll ever want to see me again," Julia murmured.

"Hmm…" her friend mused. "He's crazy about you, Jules. No one gets that jealous unless they're really into someone."

Julia flopped sideways on the bed, resting her head sadly on the pillow. "I really screwed up…"

Xiaoyu lay down beside her, hugging her. "You should go get cleaned up. Get ready for bed. You're shattered," she suggested.

Julia nodded dumbly in response, and disappeared into the bathroom. Left alone, Xiaoyu's eyes scoured the room for something to entertain herself with. It didn't take long for the backpack to fall into her line of sight, and with barely a pause, she'd scooped it up and tossed it on the bed, hopping up beside it and fiddling to undo the straps.

"What are you doing?" Julia asked, emerging from the bathroom, now dressed in a simple satin chemise, all traces of make up removed. Her curious look turned to one of horror as soon as she realised what her friend was up to. "You can't look in there. It's not yours!" she exclaimed, aghast.

"I'm just taking a peek," Xiaoyu smiled at her innocently, continuing to rake through the bag.

"Hmm… goggles!" she said, removing a pair from the pack and putting them on.

"God, Xiao! Stop it, put them back!" Julia agonised, trying to snatch them from the Chinese girl, who merely dodged out of the way, and returned to looking through the bag.

"Tekken tournament brochure… Yuck, this towel could use a wash," she went on.

"Xiao!" Julia protested, although she knew it was pointless.

"These look like those ID tags you get in the army… Ooh! Change of underwear," she grinned, producing a pair of boxer shorts and tossing them at Julia. "Dunno what this is, it's all written in Korean. Some old photo, you reckon that's him as a kid?" Xiaoyu held out a tattered photograph and Julia took it reluctantly, not happy about going through someone else's belongings. 

The picture was of a man and a young boy stood in front of what looked like it might have been a dojo, judging from the Gi the pair were wearing. The man had dark hair, swept back into a short ponytail, and his smile reached his eyes, which seemed to twinkle. He was stood with his hand on the boy's shoulder, as though he were his father. The boy had short, messily cropped black hair, but looking closely, she recognised that he was indeed a young Hwoarang. "I guess this was his master, Baek," Julia murmured, turning the picture over in her hands. There was some writing scrawled on the back, but she was unable to read the characters. The picture was faded and worn round the edges, as though it had been looked at many times.

"Put it back," she said, handing the picture back to Xiaoyu.

"But I haven't seen everything yet," Xiaoyu complained, dropping the photo on the pile with the other things she'd removed from the bag. "There's a T-shirt in here," she said pulling the article of clothing from the pack and throwing onto the bed. Hmm… What's this?" she asked, removing a small packet. "Cherry flavoured condoms!" she exclaimed with a giggle. Julia rolled her eyes at her. "Well that's a good sign, he's careful," Xiaoyu said grinning and nudging her teasingly.

"Xiaoyu, please! Put everything back!", Julia whined at her.

"Wait, there's one more thing," Xiaoyu said, rummaging in the bottom of the bag. "Oh, it's just an empty water bottle," she sighed, disappointedly. "Fine! I'll put everything back."

"Thank you," Julia replied, taking a deep, calming breath.

Julia yawned widely, as Xiaoyu finished re-packing the bag and dropped it back on the floor. "You wanting to go to sleep, Jules?" Xiaoyu asked her.

"I'm pretty tired," Julia sighed, rubbing her eyes with her fists.

"You sure you don't want me to stay?" her friend asked, concerned.

"Really, it's ok," Julia told her. " And thanks, I'm really sorry. I just… I got so jealous that he'd go off with Christie or something, and I didn't want to think about that. I didn't realise he like me…"

"Well, I don't think you need to worry about Christie stealing him away," Xiaoyu said, looking out the window.

"What do you mean?" Julia frowned.

"Lets just say she doesn't swing that way," Xiaoyu explained, looking uncomfortable.

Julia's eyes widened in surprise. "You mean?"

Xiaoyu nodded. "She trying to kiss me in the toilets at the club!" she told her. "I told her I wasn't you know, into that sort of thing, and she said she was sorry, and thought it was worth a shot, then I heard all that shouting from outside…" Xiaoyu looked up at her friend and smiled. "It was really embarrassing!"

Julia just stared at her, completely taken by surprise. "Wow," was all she managed to say.

"Anyway," Xiaoyu started, wanting to get off the topic of Christie, "I'd better get going." She headed across to the door.

"Oh, ok," Julia followed her over to show her out.

"You sure you're ok?" Xiaoyu asked one last time.

Julia smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine, honestly."

Xiaoyu nodded, stepping out into the corridor. "Well, if you need anything, just give me a call, ok?" she asked. "Goodnight."

Closing the door, Julia turned and leaned back against it, sighing and raking her fingers through her hair. Climbing into bed, she turned the light off and lay down closing her eyes, but not sleeping. For what seemed like hours, she lay restlessly, thinking over everything in her mind, a pillow wedged between her thighs for comfort.

The knock came very quietly, and at first she thought she'd imagined it, and lay still, listening to see if it would come again. When it didn't, she raised herself up out of the bed and padded softly across to the door, standing on tiptoe to peer through the tiny spy-hole. The corridor outside the door was dark and shadowy, and she could only just make out the figure stood hunched against the opposite wall, staring wretchedly at its feet. Quietly, she clicked back the lock on the door and pulled it open a crack, looking out into the darkness. The figure didn't move or look at her. "Hwoarang?" she whispered softly, reaching her hand to the light switch and illuminating the room behind her. The beam of light escaping the gap shone dimly on him as he rested on the far wall, his face hidden in shadows. "Hwoarang," she asked again, opening the door wider and taking a few cautious steps towards him. He still made no movement, and she came closer, trying to get a look at his face in the semi darkness.

"I'm sorry…" he murmured, so quietly that she could barely make out his words. She stepped right in front of him, leaning towards him, and he turned his head away from her.

"Hwoarang, it's ok," she whispered softly.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I didn't mean to… I shouldn't have come here." He made to leave, but she placed a hand on his arm.

"It's fine," she told him. "Come in." She guided him gently into her hotel room, and he complied, like a lost child.

She turned to close the door, and he stood in the middle of the room, his back turned to her. Looking at his bag, he said, "look, I should just go. I'm sorry." Stooping, he picked up the backpack and turned back to the door.

"No, Hwoarang, st…" she trailed off, catching sight of his face. "Geez…"she hissed through her teeth, "that looks painful." His eye was pretty badly swollen, and a deep purple bruise marred his right cheekbone.

"It's fine," he muttered, trying to move past her.

"Sit down," she ordered him, pointing towards the bed. "I'll get some ice." Scowling, Hwoarang did as he was told, though he hated being looked after. Searching through the mini-bar, Julia called over her shoulder that there was no ice. "Here," she said, handing him a beer. He frowned at her as he took it, before realising that she meant it was chilled. She sat in front of him as he pressed it carefully to his cheek, not meeting her eyes. Raising her hand to his face, she brushed a few stray strands of red hair from his forehead. "Where did you go?" she asked, softly.

He shrugged, still not looking up. "Nowhere. Just around…" he muttered.

"Lemme see," she said, taking the bottle from him and running her fingers gently over the bruise. He flinched slightly as she pressed too hard. "Sorry…" she whispered, sliding her hand back through his hair, and drawing his eyes to look at her. "Sorry about everything." She looking deep into his eyes, which were clouded with uncertainty and sadness, lacking the aggression that she'd seen in them before. He blinked, looking away from her. She also looked away, taking a deep breath before going on. "You were right…" she said quietly.

He looked back at her, frowning. "I was right?"

Julia swallowed nervously, butterflies fluttering in the pit of her stomach. "I am attracted to you," she whispered, almost inaudibly. "I was just… afraid," she explained. Hwoarang just stared at her.

"But…" he sighed. "Afraid?" he asked.

Julia slowly lifted her eyes to look at him. "I thought that you weren't interested in me. That you'd just use me and go off," she told him. "I thought you cared more about fighting Jin than about anything else. You seemed so wrapped up in hurting him, I didn't think you noticed me."

He looked away from her, shy of discussing emotions. "I do notice you…" he told her.

"I know," she answered, smiling at him and moving slightly, allowing the strap of her nightslip to slide off her shoulder. He looked up at her again, placing his hand gently on her shoulder, softly stroking her skin.

"Are you sure?" he inquired, looking deep into her eyes, searching for her thoughts. She nodded silently, gently leaning towards him and brushing her lips against his. He needed no more prompting, and returned her kiss, pressing more firmly against her lips, and wrapping his arms gently around her shoulders. In response, she parted her lips a little, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth, his hands gently slipping the chemise off her shoulders and sliding his hands down the smooth skin of her back. As their kiss intensified, she wound her hands round his waist, tugging his top up and over his head. She stroked her hands over his chest and their lips met again, more passionately this time, and she lay back on the bed as he moved on top of her, pushing her clothing down to her waist, his gentle fingers tickling the soft skin down her sides. Any fear that she had of succumbing to him was gone, and there was no stopping the flow of desire between them now.


	11. Abandonment

A/n: Well, I haven't updated for a couple of weeks, as I've been on holiday (lazy), and I got Primal for my birthday, so I've been playing that constantly. But I'm back in action now, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Tekken ain't mine!

-*-

The electric green from the alarm clock dimly illuminated the now warm bottle of beer that stood on the bedside table. The faint glow spread over the crumpled heap of clothing on the floor and a stray pillow, slumped against the side of the bed. The green light glistened in the eyes of the young man as he sat and watched his sleeping companion, gazing fondly at her as she slumbered. Her breathing was deep and even. She let out a soft sigh, and rolled over, flopping an arm loosely round his waist, and resting her head on his stomach. With a wistful smile, he smoothed her hair back with the lightest of touches, tracing the curve of her neck with his fingertips. She shivered at his touch, snuggling closer to him, sharing his warmth.

__

Julia smiled contentedly, happy to be in his warm embrace as they swayed together, alone on the dance floor. "This is nice…" she breathed softly, looking up into his eyes. Hwoarang merely smiled back at her, running his fingers up and down her spine gently. Sinking more deeply into his arms, she rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes and tracing the seams of his tuxedo lightly. A cool breeze whipped softly across the room, ruffling her dress and sending chills up her legs. "Where did that come from?" she whispered, peering over his shoulder into the shadows. She hadn't noticed how dark the room was before. She was unable to see the walls, the floor just sank into the shadows, and she trembled, as she sensed movement in the darkness. "There's something out there!" she gasped.

"Shhh…" He soothed, holding her close to him, stroking the back of her head with his strong hand. 

Julia twisted her head from side to side, as she kept seeing movements out of the corner of her eye. Her breathing quickened, as the panic began to rise inside her. "Hwoarang!" she cried, her voice now shaking in fear. The room was now considerably colder, and the soft lighting and smooth shadows had now taken on a harsher, more menacing appearance. She gripped his arms tightly, clinging to him, and trying desperately to see what phantoms were lurking in the dark. "There is definitely something out there!"

His breath was hot and fierce against her neck, and his grip on her was frighteningly powerful. "It's not what's out there that you should fear," he told her, his voice no longer calm and soothing, but cruel and guttural, almost growling the words. She stiffened instantly, her eyes wide with terror. It took all her strength to turn her head to face the man who held her. The eyes that stared back at her burned like blazing coals, ripping straight into her soul, tearing her insides apart. Backing away, she tried to scream, but the sound caught in her throat, and her fear was so great that it was a struggle just to draw breath. Her eyes were fixed on the beast as she fought to move away, watching a nasty smirk spread over its face. Her legs felt like lead and it was a chore to lift her feet. The ground felt unstable beneath her, and looking down she saw that the polished tiles of the dance floor were crumbling away into sand. Losing her footing, she toppled to the ground, a frightened shriek escaping her lips as she crashed down, her fingers clawing into the burning sand. 

The sudden blaring sunlight burned into her eyes, sending shooting pains through her head. She scrabbled desperately for footing in the soft sand, dragging herself awkwardly to her feet and squinting through narrowed eyes at the harsh whiteness of the desert. "Hwoarang!" she choked, her throat suddenly dry and sore. "Help me!" She twisted and turned, looking in all directions, but saw nothing but barren desert. A straggled gasping from behind her caused her to spin round, every part of her shaking with fear.

She gasped in relief at what she saw, but the relief soon vanished as she saw him properly. Hwoarang was stood a short distance away, now dressed in his regular street clothes, but although he was facing Julia, his eyes weren't focused on her. He stood listlessly, a blank expression on his face as he stared dumbly ahead, not seeing anything. Horror rose in Julia's throat like bile as she saw the pool of red seeping into the sand around him, spreading outwards, reaching towards her.

"It's just you and me now, child!" the demon's cruel and twisted voice snarled at her from behind, and she spun to face him, but there was nothing there. 

Turning back to Hwoarang, she was just in time to see him kick-starting his bike, whirling it round in the sand, splattering her with a shower of grit, as he turned and rode away from her. "No, Hwoarang, wait! Don't leave me!" she cried desperately, reaching hopelessly for him. Almost immediately, she cowered back in the opposite direction, as the track left by his tires began to writhe and contort, a long, wicked tongue flicking out at her, as a terrible rattling shook through the atmosphere, deafening her. Falling backwards, she tried to crawl away from the monster, as the gigantic snake coiled its head back, preparing to strike. The rattling grew even louder, and through it she could hear the horrible cackling laughter of the demon. Julia let out the most terrible of screams as the snake's head shot forwards, its fangs plunging into her chest, lifting her off the ground. Everything went black.

Julia sat up in bed, shivering and pulling the sheets round her more tightly. She turned to look for Hwoarang, but she was alone in the bed. Leaning forwards and drawing her knees up to her chest, she rubbed her temples wearily. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she peered through the early morning greyness to find that his belongings were also missing. Squeezing her eyes shut, she fought back the urge to burst into tears. She knew this would happen, so there was no point getting upset about it. But it still hurt. Taking a few deep breaths, she was just about to head for the bathroom when the alarm clock went off. Thumping the off switch a little more vigorously than was necessary, she turned it to face her: 7:00. Right on time for breakfast, before she'd have to pack her bags and head for the airport. She'd forgotten it was today that she was leaving.

Not watching where she was going, Julia tripped over a pile of suitcases on her way across the hotel lobby and went flying into the arms of the owner of the baggage. "You should watch where you're going, Julia," Steve chided, steadying her.

"Oh, Steve. Sorry," she smiled weakly at him, straightening her clothes and peering at her own reflection in his sunglasses.

Steve grunted in response, taking a look over her shoulder at the lobby. "No lover boy then?" he sneered, clearly still angry about the night before.

"Oh," Julia mumbled. "No, I haven't seen him." She stared unhappily at her feet.

"You're better off without him," Steve stated firmly. "Well, I have a plane to catch," he announced, turning on his heel and heading for the exit, one of the hotel bell boys pushing his luggage ahead of him. 

Shaking her head morosely, Julia turned and walked over to the reception desk. "Excuse me?" she waved to get the receptionist's attention. "I wanted to know if there were… any messages for me?" she asked, though she knew the answer would be no.

"One moment, please," the receptionist said, ruffling through some papers under the desk. "Ah, yes. There is one," she said, an insincere smile plastered across her face.

Julia blinked at her in surprise, before taking the letter she held out, and turning to leave. "Oh, thank you!" she called over her shoulder as she hurried back to the elevator, tearing open the letter hopefully. Once inside the lift, she unfolded the piece of paper and started to read.

'Hey Jules!

I'm sorry I won't be able to come to the airport to say goodbye, and I hope you're feeling better after last night. Panda and I have decided to go and look for Jin, so I don't know where I'll be. We were planning to go to Hong Kong first, since I have a friend there who might be able to help me.

Have a good flight home, and don't keep upsetting yourself about Hwoarang. I bet you meet a great guy when you get home, who'll be great in bed ^_~

I'll write to you soon!

Xiao xxx'

Julia groaned quietly, slumping back against the wall. She could feel the tears welling up behind her eyes and a lump tightening her throat. She straightened up, blinking furiously as a loud 'bing' told her the elevator had reached a floor. Looking at the display, she saw that she was at her floor and she stumbled out of the lift and down the corridor to her room, collapsing in a miserable heap on her bed. She growled angrily at herself. She wasn't going to get upset about this. Hwoarang was a total jerk for leaving her without saying goodbye, and he was definitely not worth her tears. 'But maybe he'll come to the airport?' a small voice inside her whispered hopefully. 'What if something's happened to him, though?' she thought, remembering the horror of her dream. But that was just silly. It was only a dream.

The taxi ride was disturbingly bumpy, and Julia clung to the bottom of her seat to keep form hitting her head on the roof. She could hear her bags rattling around in the back, and prayed to the spirits that nothing be damaged. The taxi driver was prattling on to her, either not knowing or not caring that she couldn't understand a word. Every now and then he'd pause and look at her in the rear-view mirror, to which she'd respond with a nervous chuckle. This seemed to satisfy him, as he'd flash her a toothy grin or a cheeky wink, before continuing his chatter.

Stepping out of the taxi, Julia squinted up at the entrance to Narita airport. 'Well, this is it!' she thought. Picking up her bags, she wobbled her way into the entrance, her senses a little muddled by the journey. Even though the taxi had been rather terrible, she missed it. It had given her something to distract her from her worries and emotional turmoil. Even though the airport was huge, and full of people, no one paid her any attention, and she was left to her own devices. As usual with airports, she'd been required to turn up an hour before her flight, and so had nothing to do but sit around in the waiting room. Julia slid down in one of the hideously uncomfortable waiting room chairs next to a big, fat guy who was barking loudly at his kid about how great it'll be to get back to America where they have proper food, instead of all this "fishy crap". On the other side of her sat a couple of twenty-something backpackers, talking excitedly about how soon they'd be able to go to Europe.

The plane was rather typically delayed, so after more than an hour of flicking aimlessly through boring magazines and eavesdropping on other people's lives, Julia was relieved that boarding had finally been called. But at the same time, she felt a stab of pain in her heart. Hwoarang had not come to see her off. As she pushed her hand luggage into the overhead rack and settled uncomfortably into her undersized seat, she gazed sadly out of the window. He really didn't care about her after all.

She sighed, a fat tear rolling down her cheek as the plane rose up off the runway. She watched, as the airport grew smaller, ignoring the airhostess' safety talk, and the inane chatter of the other passengers. Her gaze was nonchalant as she stared at the shrinking trees, the roofs of the buildings, and the tiny figures in the streets. She could just make out the row of taxis outside the airport, a queue of businessmen lining up to pay the extortionate fares. There was a mother dragging a screaming child out of a shop, and a couple of guys in Hawaiian shirts coming out of the airport. And she wasn't absolutely sure, but she thought she saw a lone figure, stood watching the plane from behind a fence near the runway, a motorbike propped up next to him.


	12. AWOL

Disclaimer: Do I have to bother? Nah…

-*-

Julia lay with her eyes shut, the only sound to be heard the fizzing of the bubbles she soaked in, and the quiet whirring of the extraction fan. Though the steaming bath helped relax her tired body, it did little for her troubled mind, and her thoughts were dark and sombre. Rolling onto her front, she stretched, dunking her head under the water. Lifting it out again, she gulped down great mouthfuls of air, sweeping back the soaking mass of hair that hung heavily over her face. Turning over again, she let herself slide limply into the bath, the water filling her ears and lapping around the edges of her face, trickling between her lips. Opening her eyes, she stared lifelessly at the ceiling tiles, observing the stains left by generations of grubby students. 

She couldn't wait till she could move out of here. She couldn't stand student accommodation and yearned for the day she could afford her own place, with a real kitchen and her own bedroom, so she wouldn't have to share with anyone anymore. Unless, of course, she met a man she wished to share with. Her thoughts drifted wistfully back to Hwoarang, and she felt the despair that had been nestling in her heart rise again. "I'll just have to wait for the next tournament…" she whispered, allowing herself the small luxury of this glimmer of hope. The thought that she would see him again, and that everything would be ok was the only thing that kept her from breaking down completely.

The sound of the door opening in the next room and a series bangs and bumps indicated that Julia's roommate Hayley had arrived home. The sound of giggling told Julia that she had brought someone with her. Hearing the creaking of bedsprings and more giggling and murmuring, Julia groaned inwardly. Not wanting to be subjecting to the sound of Hayley and her boyfriend's boisterous lovemaking yet again, especially in her current state of mind, she drummed her fist on the wall. "Keep it down in there!" she shouted, irritably.

The giggling promptly stopped. "Jules, is that you?" Hayley called through, before suddenly barging her way into the bathroom. Julia sank back under the bubbles quickly, giving her roommate an annoyed glare. "I didn't think you were coming back for another couple of days," her friend continued.

"No, I just got back a few hours ago," Julia sighed.

"Well how did it go? You'll have to tell me everything!" Hayley enthused, as her boyfriend Matt appeared behind her, slinking his arm around her waist and leering at Julia over her shoulder.

Julia rolled her eyes at them. "Do you mind? I'm trying to have a bath here!"

"Oh!" Hayley said blinking as though she'd only just noticed. "We'll get out of here," she said grumpily. "We can go to your place, right, Matt?" she asked, turning to him. 

"Uh, sure," he said, dragging his eyes away from Julia, who was trying to maintain the bubble coverage over her breasts before his eyes popped out of their sockets.

The pair turned and left, closing the door behind them. Once she'd heard that they'd exited the bedroom, Julia sighed deeply, relaxing back into her bath again and reminiscing about how Hwoarang had interrupted her shower not so long ago. She really had to remember to lock the door. "Where did you go, Hwoarang? Why…?" she breathed sadly, dragging her fingers aimlessly through the bubbles, leaving sad little tracks in the water.

****

***

The Korean youth stood hunched over, breathing hard and gripping his knees to keep himself on his feet, trying to hide the way his legs were shaking. As the other youth came in to deliver another blow he moved to block it, but his defence was weak and his arm was knocked to the side, quickly followed by a hard blow to the stomach, knocking him to the grimy street gutter.

"Looks like you lose!" the Hong Kong thug sneered, grinning wickedly and raking his fingers through his greasy locks.

"No!" the redhead gasped, struggling to get to his feet, and wincing as he placed weight on a damaged leg. 

His effort was met by a flurry of mocking laughter from the small gang of street punks surrounding him. "Give up while you still can, fool!" his tormentor snarled, kicking a cloud of dirt in his direction.

Still heaving for breath, the Korean fixed him with a fierce stare through bright red strands of hair, now matted with dirt and sweat. "Double or nothing," he stated coldly, the tremble in his voice barely noticeable under his harsh tone.

The Hong Kong youth exchanged an amused glance with his companions, before turning to the battered Korean and cracking his knuckles cockily. "Some people just want to die!" he jeered, advancing towards his victim. 

Hwoarang just kept his eyes focused on his opponent, watching his every move, a wicked grin slowly forming on his lips.

The street thug didn't know what hit him, but it hit him again three more times in the face, sending him reeling back. In a haze of bright red hair and taut, glistening muscles the Korean launched himself into the air and over the top of the startled youth following his initial kicks with a hard blow to the back of his head. Knocked to his knees, the Hong Kong boy turned to look at this new opponent, dancing lightly on his feet, his movements fluid and controlled, no apparent evidence of his previous wounds. The Korean circled him, a predatory look in his eyes. Having waited for his prey to get to its feet, he struck again, this time with a crippling kick to the side of the knee and a brutal series of punches to the face, finishing it with a final, painful kick to the head. The youth crumpled to the ground, his blood smearing in the dirt.

The Korean turned to his victim's friends, anticipating a revenge attack. The punks looked at each other, then back at the fiery redhead. After a quick scrabble in their pockets, they dumped his winnings at his feet grudgingly, before taking their leave.

"Ah, too easy…" Hwoarang muttered to himself. "Now I've got some real business to attend to. Have to make things right."

Hwoarang held up a rather suspect looking morsel of food from his noodles and thought again that he needed to work on his Cantonese. That said, he had managed to get what he'd really been after, and the curious noodles were just an extra. Tossing the empty packet on the ground, he pushed his way out of the busy market place and swung his backpack, complete with new purchases, off his shoulder, swinging it by his side as he made his way towards the harbour.

Approaching the bay, a group of soldiers at the boarding points of all the cargo ships caught his eye, and he altered his course to skirt round the edge of the harbour. There was a bridge that led across a waterway and around the back of several of the boats. Hopefully he'd be able to get far enough before the soldiers spotted him.

A sharp shout from behind him alerted him to the fact that this wouldn't be the case. Looking over his shoulder, he saw one of the army officers waving in his direction, and a group of heavily armed soldiers running towards him. In a flash, Hwoarang turned and ran, full speed in the opposite direction. Skidding around the corner onto the bridge, he was faced by a group of soldiers reaching the other end of the bridge. As he ran to the middle of the structure, the other soldiers arrived at the bridge, and he turned to see that he was trapped. Leaping up onto the railing, Hwoarang peered desperately into the murky, polluted water of the harbour, churning and frothy from the noisy engines of the ships. He prayed his swimming would be up to it, as he heard one of the soldiers shouting to him. "Sergeant! Climb down from the railing and put your hands in the air, or we will be forced to shoot!" the man barked at him. Turning to face the men, Hwoarang raised his hands above his head, looking down over his shoulder at the water and back up at the army officer, smiling.

"Sergeant!" the officer growled in warning, raising his gun at the AWOL Korean. As Hwoarang turned, preparing to dive into the harbour depths, a shot rang out. Hwoarang cried out in pain as blood spattered from his thigh and he toppled ungracefully from the bridge, plunging into the water.

Running to the railing, several of the soldiers peered over it, searching for the fallen youth. "There!" one of them shouted, pointing to the back of one of the ships. The churning white froth from the turning propellers of the boat was turning a deep red, as scraps of material floated ominously to the surface.

One of the younger soldiers lent over the bridge, spewing into the already defiled water. The commanding officer gave him a disapproving look. "File a report with central command, and keep a small unit here for a week, to see if the body turns up. I always hate it when it ends like this, such a waste…" he said, shaking his head in disappointment, as the group of soldiers withdrew from the bridge, already radioing in the events to other officers.

-*-

A/n: I know it's a bit shorter than usual, but that's just the way I had to write this bit. And if you don't like my cliff-hangers, tough, because I do! Besides, they're earning me some spankings… ^_~


	13. Losing You, Losing Me

A/n: Ok, I've finished my exams now, so I should be updating regularly. If I don't, feel free to send death threats and stuff. Though after this chapter you may be doing that anyway…

Disclaimer: Not mine.

-*-

"Damn it, Julia! You can't still be moping about that guy, can you?" Hayley stomped her feet and grabbed the textbook out from under Julia's nose, waving it in her face. "We have exams starting in a couple of weeks and you've barely prepared at all!"

Julia blinked wearily at her friend. "I just haven't been sleeping well…" she murmured. "Nightmares and stuff." She turned and stared blankly across the study hall, not really focusing on any of the students who were milling around, chatting and studying in groups, drinking coffee and laughing together. She let out a long, soft sigh. "I wish I knew why… Why did he leave? Where is he? I thought we had a connection. I've never felt like that before." Hayley let an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes.

"Wow, Jules had her first orgasm and now she's all hung up on the guy," their study companion, Carrie drawled, mimicking Hayley's eye-rolling gesture. She swung her long legs up onto the desk, splashing one of the cups of coffee and stretched her arms behind her head, causing her breasts to jut out more and several of the more observant guys around to swallow hard. "This guy must be really good. I wouldn't mind meeting him myself," she teased, and gave a satisfied smirk as Julia's head whipped around and she received a fierce glare.

"Do you _ever_ stop thinking about sex?" Hayley asked, rolling her eyes at Carrie this time.

Carrie extended a slender hand out in front of her, inspecting the carefully manicured nails. "Not really…" she sighed, "Why would I? I'm so good at it," she said, smiling smugly across the table.

"I sometimes suspect you might be a man," Hayley remarked, flicking her dark blonde hair over her shoulder and staring pointedly at her friend.

"With these babies?" Carrie responded, indicating her rather ample cleavage and raising her eyebrows. Julia was just starting to relax when Carrie redirected the attention back to her. "You know what you need, Jules?" she announced, sitting up in her chair and drawing one of her knees up to her chest. She leant towards Julia conspiratorially. "A healthy bit of rebound sex!" The brazen brunette flashed a wickedly proud smile at Julia's slightly uneasy expression, before narrowing her eyes and whispering slyly, "and I know just the man." She turned and pointed across the hall at an anonymous group of guys, laughing and chatting over their study books.

Julia's brow furrowed in confusion. "Which one?" she asked, and immediately regretted it. She really didn't want to get involved in any of Carrie's schemes. They were nearly always for her benefit alone.

"Well, William, of course!" Carrie cried, arching a brow at Julia like she was a total idiot.

"Uhh…" Julia groaned, peering at the group and trying to think of anyone called William. 

Carrie shook her head in disgust. "Tall? Sandy hair, broad shoulders? He's perfect for you, very academic, and we all know what a swot you are."

"And of course this has nothing to do with the fact that you have designs on his best friend Tom, does it?" Hayley stated cynically.

Ignoring her, Carrie leaped out of her seat and grabbed Julia roughly by the arm. "Come on, I'll introduce you!" she said, dragging Julia towards the group before she could protest.

After half an hour of awkward chatting Hayley had managed to rescue Julia from Carrie's clutches, and Julia was extremely thankful, as they headed back to their room together. Even though William had seemed ok, Julia just wasn't in the mood for being set up. She wasn't that sure of Carrie's choice of man either. It _was_ definitely to suit Carrie's needs, rather than anything to do with Julia, as Hayley had correctly guessed. William was perfectly polite and well spoken, and he did seem clever. There was just something… superficial about him, and Julia couldn't see herself ever being interested. Besides, she was still hoping Hwoarang would show up any minute to sweep her off her feet. Maybe Carrie was right. Perhaps she should find another guy to take her mind of things. But she wasn't ready yet. She needed to cling on to the hope of Hwoarang for a little longer. 'I could go and look for him,' she thought to herself. 'Like Xiao is looking for Jin.' That was what she would do. She'd hunt him down and make him love her. She wouldn't cave in to the tortuous mocking of the demon in her dreams. 

As they rounded the corner into the corridor where their room was, they heard the loud trilling of the phone and saw Kate from the room next door standing outside their room looking quite annoyed. "Hayley, your damn phone's been ringing off the hook for hours, where the hell have you been?" she barked, as they approached. 

"Oh, I'm really sorry!" Hayley said, struggling to put her key in the lock. "I wonder who it could be," she frowned, shoving the door open and leaping across the room to the phone. 

"Well, whoever it is, you can tell them to shove off, my ears are going to be ringing for days now," Kate grumbled, letting herself back into her own room.

"Hello?" Hayley said, grabbing the phone. "Who? What? Oh, wait a sec." She turned to face Julia, a frown on her face. "It's for you. Sounds like an international line, the connection isn't that good."

Julia's heart did a little flip as she came and took the receiver. Could it be? "Hello?" she whispered cautiously. "Xiaoyu, hi. Are you ok?" She listened as her friend took a few heaving breaths down the crackling phone line.

"Jules, I've been trying to call you all day," Xiaoyu went on, once she'd composed herself. "I have to tell you something." Julia felt a strange churning in the pit of her stomach. There was something very unpleasant about Xiaoyu's tone. She waited in silence for her friend to continue, knowing it would be bad. "It's about Hwoarang," Xiaoyu whispered, her voice trembling over the line. Julia felt the thudding of her heart soften, taking on a soft, slow pulse, right in the very core of her chest. "It was in the Hong Kong news," Xiaoyu went on. "The Korean military were here. They… they…" She gulped back a sob. "They shot an AWOL soldier at the harbour, killed him." Xiaoyu blinked back the tears that were stinging at the back of her eyes. "The witnesses… they said he had red hair. That they'd tracked him from Tokyo. I'm so sorry, Julia!" Xiaoyu listened to the silence on the other end of the phone, before she heard a small click, and the dial tone rang in her ears. 

"Julia? Are you alright?" Hayley looked at her friend with concern. 

Julia put down the phone silently and turned to her roommate with a deadpan expression. "I'm fine." Her voice was monotone, and emotionless, and Hayley felt an uneasy squirming inside at the sound of it. Whatever this was, it was bad. Picking her jacket up off the bed, Julia headed towards the door. "I'm going up to the reservation. I feel like riding," she stated, in the same dead voice, closing the door carefully behind her on her way out. Hayley looked from the shut door to the phone and back again. She swallowed uncomfortably, unsure what to do.

"Hey Julia, where you going? I was just gonna see if you fancied going for a drink," William called after her as she marched briskly past him in the entrance and headed across the car park to her beat up old jeep. He frowned and scratched his head as she pulled out of the lot, sending a shower of gravel spraying into the air. "That was rude."

Julia was only vaguely aware of William's voice in the background as she left the building. The roads all seemed to merge into one on the journey up to the reserve. She was equally unobservant of the cries of "Julia! We didn't think you'd be here until the weekend!" when she hopped out of the jeep at the ranch and made her may blindly to the stables.

"I'm going to take Tantrum out for a ride," she told the stable girl, briskly, pulling the horse's saddle off a hook in the tack room.

"Oh, hey Julia, I didn't think you'd be here until Saturday. Have you seen your mothe…" the girl trailed off, peering more closely at Julia. "Are you alright, Julia?"

"I'm fine," Julia answered flatly, and when she turned to face the girl and saw her concerned expression, she gave her a firm smile. This seemed to satisfy the girl, and moved to let Julia go to the horse.

The girl frowned at the retreating back of the older girl. "It's a nice day for it!" she called after her, a strange feeling of unease coming over her.

As Julia led Tantrum out into the yard and prepared to get into the saddle, Randall, an older man who worked teaching riding at the ranch came over from talking with the stable girl. "Hello there Julia," he said, studying her face carefully. "Going for a ride, are you?"

"Yes," she replied abruptly, turning her back on him.

"Fancy some company?" he suggested, placing a hand firmly on her shoulder.

"No, thank you."

"You sure? There isn't anything you'd like to talk about, is there?" He looked deep into her eyes, worry etched on his face.

"No," Julia told him. "I just… need some fresh air. To clear my head." Without waiting for his response she swung herself up onto the horse's back and rode out of the stable yard, breaking into a canter as she headed up the track away from the ranch and out into the Arizona wilderness.

It was a beautiful day, and the sun beat warmly down on her back as she headed onto the reservation. Birds sang sweetly in the trees and insects buzzed and hummed in the hot air. But Julia was deaf and blind to all of it. All she felt was the drumming of Tantrum's hooves on the soft dirt and the pounding of her aching heart. She urging the horse on, letting the force of the wind against her cheeks blow all her thoughts from her head, numbing her to the core. She squeezed her eyes shut, just feeling the sensation of speed, the rocky, bumpy gait of the animal as it galloped up the hill, picking up its feet to go over thick roots, through scrub bushes and over rocky ground. She didn't care where she was going, allowing Tantrum to choose his own path. 

Unexpectedly, Julia found herself thrown forwards in the saddle as the horse came to a sudden halt, slamming his hooves hard into the ground, and reversing. Julia's eyes flew open, and she was blinded by the bright desert sun as the horse reared, throwing her from the saddle. With a sickening thud she hit the ground, pain shooting through her skull as she hit a rock. Disorientated and in great pain, Julia rolled over onto her side, the loud drumming of hooves and the screaming of the horse fading to nothing behind her, and for a last second her eyes focused on what had scared her mount. The snake watched her sleepily, a low, cruel rattling filling her ears, before it turned and slithered away into the undergrowth. Letting out a long, painful sigh, she let the darkness consume her.

-*-

A/n: I realise that this chapter and the last have been rather heavy on angst and drama etc. but don't worry. The last couple of chapters should be easier going. And they should be done a lot quicker too.


	14. Bad Hygiene

A/n: Everyone seems so concerned about Hwoarang, nobody seems to care that Julia's just cracked her head open on a rock… Does no one care for our heroine?   
Warning! Use of the word "ass".

Disclaimer: Tekken and all Tekken characters belong to Namco. 

-*-

High, tuneless whistling echoed through the dank, grimy underbelly of the ship, mingling with the distant clanking and banging, creaking and grinding of life at sea, and the constant rumble of an engine well past its best before date. Hollow notes bounced painfully off the knotted mass of piping that ran throughout the maze of passageways, each as filthy and rat-infested as the last. The rank air was undisturbed by the cheerfulness of the noise, and the stench of oil, damp, and decay hung in the atmosphere like a wind chime without a breeze to give it life. 

With a satisfied splash, the engineer finished his business and wiped his ass with a wad of coarse, abrasive material that was masquerading as loo roll. He hiked up his tatty trousers and peered into the dirty, stain-covered mirror over the sink. A bleary-eyed, rough-faced version of himself stared back out at him, its features slightly warped by the contours of the glass. It gave a deep-throated chuckle, and turned its back on the engineer, resuming its whistling as it exited from the mirror. The engineer was unaware of the reflection's exit though, as he himself had exited the toilet and was halfway down the corridor, scratching the back of his head with callused fingers and humming merrily as he trundled along. 

"Piece o' shit lights…" he grumbled, tripping over a pile of rags hidden in the shadows and rolling his eyes at the swinging, flickering bulbs along the length of the passageway ahead. His boots splashed through the puddles that were commonplace on a ship of this age, and he hissed as his foot skidded on a pool of dark liquid, which the bad lighting had also failed to illuminate. Reaching out to steady himself, he swore violently as his hand contacted with a burning pipe. "Fuckin' oil leaks!" he spat, shaking his hand and scraping his boot on the ground to rid it of the offending liquid, before heading off into the tangled web of passages, no longer in the mood for whistling.

In the stillness after his departure, something stirred. Quiet scuffling was heard from the shadows, and whiskers twitched around the edge of the swinging pool of light. Once certain it was safe, a pair of rats slipped from the darkness, scuttling across the passage. The first one stopped by the pool of liquid, sniffing tentatively before dipping its nose in to taste, whilst the second raced to inspect the disturbed pile of rags. The first rat raised its head from the liquid and sniffed the air, peering into the shadows and making for another pool of the liquid in the entrance to another corridor.

The lights were broken altogether in this passage, and the shadows flooded it, hiding everything in a blanket of darkness. The rat, however, needed no artificial assistance to find its way. Stopping at the second pool, it indulged in another sip of the sticky substance, then made its way over to a dark alcove to explore the potential food that occupied it. 

Tickled by the creature's whiskers, the fingers it was investigating twitched, and then rose to swipe at the rat, sending it racing away into the shadows. "Not yet, you little shit," a gruff voice muttered quietly, as the figure shifted wearily, raising his head. Hwoarang let out an exhausted sigh as he struggled to pull himself out of his slumped position on the filthy floor. Breathing heavily, he lent against the wall for support, and squinted at the light at the end of the tunnel. The coast looked clear.

The Korean heaved himself awkwardly along the passageway, limping and wincing with every step, grunting with the effort it was costing him. Dragging himself into the cramped toilet, he shut the door behind him and leaned limply against it, drawing in ragged breaths as he fought to recover from the walk.

Once he'd got his breathing under control, he scanned the room until his eyes came to rest on a battered, ancient-looking medicine cabinet hanging squint on the opposite wall. He crossed the room on unsteady feet and pulled open the cabinet. There wasn't much of use inside, but he pulled out an old tube of antiseptic cream, some superglue, a roll of dressings and a pair of rusty scissors before peeling off his sodden clothes and resting against the sink, trying to control the violent trembling of his body. He shuddered at the nauseating heat that washed through his head with every breath he took and eyed the goose bumps raising across his arms and the stream of blood oozing its way down his leg, pooling around his foot.

The mirror looked out at the pale, sickly looking face which stood before it, examining the dark, bruised looking bags beneath the sunken eyes and the tangled, stinking mass of dirty hair that clung to the skull. The brow wrinkled in a frown that took some effort and the muscles at the side of the face indicated that the jaw was clenched. The mirror watched in horror as a fist flew at it, smashing the bottom half of the glass into shards, which fell clattering into the sink. 

The redhead stretched and curled his fingers slowly, before selecting a particularly deadly looking shard of mirror and lifting it before his eyes. "Seven years bad luck, huh? Not that it could get much worse…" he mumbled, smiling wryly. Turning the taps produced a lot of rumbling and banging in the pipes, but after a lot of effort the water began to flow. Clearly, these taps were not used often. Hwoarang helped himself to a handful of paper from the roll on the wall, and soaked it in the basin, squeezing out the excess and sitting himself uncomfortably onto the toilet. Taking the paper, he carefully tried to wash away the mass of blood, cleaning the area around the wound as best he could. He sighed as the blood continued to well up. At least it was a bit cleaner now though, and he could see what he was doing. 

Taking the shard of mirror in a shaking hand, he dug it into the bullet wound, using the other hand to scoop water from the sink and wash the blood away to see what he was doing. Grinding his teeth, he swallowed hard to keep down the contents of his stomach. Luckily, the bullet wasn't in too deep and cutting into the flesh he located it quickly. Tossing the bloodied mirror back into the sink, which was now over-flowing, he dug his fingers in, gripping the bullet and tugging it out. A fresh spurt of blood greeted this new development, and Hwoarang fought off another wave of dizziness. "shoulda kept some of that blood for myself…" he muttered.

Once the bullet was out, he gave the wound another good wipe down, and smeared a sizeable blob of antiseptic cream into the wound, gritting his teeth at the stinging and hoping this would be enough to keep out infection. Next he drew the edges of the wound together, wiping away as much blood as possible and squeezing out the superglue along the tear. Grimacing at the pain of the glue burning as it did its job and the dull, but powerful aching that made his entire thigh throb, he eased his hands away from the wound, cautious about whether it would hold. Satisfied that it was ok, he took a length of dressing and bound his leg as tightly as possible, just in case. 

"What a mess…" Hwoarang grumbled, looking at the state of the floor. Turning off the taps, he wearily scooped his clothes off the floor, shaking them out and dunking them into the water in the sink, trying to wash as much of the salt water out of them as possible. He stuck his finger unhappily through the hole in his jeans. "Didn't go quite as planned But same outcome… and I can get some new jeans." He shrugged, slinging the jeans up onto the hot pipes, along with the rest of his clothes. He lent against the wall and slid slowly to the floor, resting his head on his knees and shivering with cold. Slumping into the corner, he closed his eyes, drifting quickly into unconsciousness.

__

Hwoarang watched from behind some crates as the sailors hauled cargo down the gangplank, waiting for his chance to disembark. He'd been at sea for too long now, and was seriously ready for dry land again. He'd never make a sailor. Once it looked safe he jogged down the plank onto the quayside. As he stepped onto solid ground several soldiers stepped from behind the cargo. Turning and looking around him he saw he was surrounded.

"Hahahaha!" his old commander stepped in front of him, laughing. "You got on the wrong ship, sergeant," he mocked. "Now you'll never reach your target!"

"That's right, Hwoarang. You'll never have me!" Hwoarang turned in horror to see that one of the soldiers was Julia. Removing her army cap, she shook out her long plaits, which fell softly down her back, and he longed to rush to her and tough her, but there was nothing soft about the evil grin that warped her beautiful face or the cruel, tortuous tone of her voice. "Did you really think someone like me would ever accept a filthy street thug like you?" she spat, glaring at him wickedly.

"No!" Hwoarang said, stepping back and shaking his head in disbelief.

"You pathetic fool," Julia sneered.

"Julia, no!" Hwoarang stared at her, a painful frown creasing his brow. She just threw her head back and laughed at him. All the soldiers around were laughing.

"NOOOO!!!" Hwoarang yelled, charging at the commander and grabbing his gun from him. "You're not really Julia!" he shouted, turning to her and raising the gun. "You're not her!" With that final cry he fired the gun directly at her head. The fake Julia flew backwards, and a blinding light streamed from where she had been standing. Dropping the gun, Hwoarang shielded his eyes from the light. 

When he opened them again, he was standing in a wide field, the sun shining gently down on him and the grass swaying in a light breeze.

"Hwoarang?" He turned to see her standing a short distance away, her hair loose and flowing gently over her shoulders, her soft brown eyes looking at him with concern.

"Julia," he whispered.

"I thought you were dead," she said sadly, tilting her head and gazing at him.

"Don't worry, I'm coming for you. I promise."

Raising his head, Hwoarang blinked sleepily, taking a moment to focus on his surroundings. His body still felt very weak and shaky, but the pain in his leg had subsided, and he didn't feel as dizzy. Clambering to his feet he stretched out his naked legs, shaking them to boost his circulation and reaching his arms over his head, his back cracking audibly. Rubbing his neck, he crossed the room and checked to see if his clothes were dry. They seemed just about ready, and he pulled them off the pipes and slid his stiff, sore limbs into the warm, soothing fabric.

Grabbing his boots he turned one upside down and caught the plastic bag wrapped around the wad of American dollars he'd won from the street punks in Hong Kong. "This should do me," he said with a smile shoving it back in the boot and pulling the boots on.

Once dressed, he went over to the sink and with a resigned sigh, picked up the scissors. The scissors were badly blunted, so it took some time, but after an hour of tugging and yanking he'd managed to cut most of his hair off, leaving a short, messy, uneven crop. Taking the mouldy looking bar of soap from the edge of the sink, worn away more by time than use, he lathered it up as best he could, rubbing it over his head. He took the sharp shard of mirror again, using it as a makeshift razor, and shaved off what was left of his hair.

When he was done, he stood inspecting his reflection for a while. "Not bad… Couple of cuts, but nothing too obvious," he sighed, rubbing his hand over his now bare head. "It's for the best…" A loud rumble from his stomach told him it was time to find some food. 

The ship was suitably dark and riddled with passageways that he was able to get around without being detected. It didn't take long to find the dining area as this was where most of the crew were, shouting and laughing together. He waited for them to clear out before creeping into the kitchen and raking around for something to eat. Munching down great chunks of bread and slurping on a bowl of tomato soup he helped himself to the leftovers. Slowly, he felt his strength beginning to return to him. 

For the first time in a while, Hwoarang began to feel that things would be ok. Although his plan hadn't gone the way he'd intended, he'd still survived. He just hoped that the bag of blood he'd bought at the butchers had been enough to convince the soldiers he was a goner. Prodding his thigh gingerly, he considered the likely hood that it would become infected. Best not to dwell on it. He had more important things to think about, like how he'd convince Julia to forgive him. He had to do what he did though. If he'd stayed with her, or told her where he'd be, the army would have gone after her too, and he couldn't put her at risk like that.

It was early morning when the ship arrived in San Francisco, and the sun had not yet risen above the horizon. The cry of seagulls still filled the air though, and Hwoarang took a deep breath of salty air as he stepped onto dry land. He wasn't exactly sure how long he'd been on the ship, as he'd spent most of the time below deck, but he thought it had been about three days. He still felt as though the ground was moving beneath his feet, but that would subside. And he was almost there. He was going to find Julia, and tell her how he felt. He'd make her forgive him.

-*-

A/n: Ok, shameless advertising here. Go read "Lei Wulong in Santa Strikes back" by Mandrake Dragonbait cos it's well written, even if the plot is really random and whacked. 


	15. The Darkness Lifts

Disclaimer: Tekken and all associated characters are the property of Namco, and all I'm gaining from this story is pleasure.

-*-

__

The ground melted away beneath her, and Julia felt herself sinking into the soft dirt. Quickly, the rushing of the sand and gravel against her skin was replaced by the rush of the wind, and she found herself tumbling through a vast, empty space, feeling like Alice tumbling down the rabbit's hole. As she fell, her memories flooded around her, caressing her like warm blankets. She heard the terrible ringing of alarms and panic gripped at her heart as she was hunted. She felt the grogginess of a drug-induced sleep, and she remembered the force of being hurled to the ground on a dark night. She felt the adrenaline rush of following her instincts instead of obeying common sense, and the thrill of being taken for a fast ride through city streets. The musical rhythm once again swayed her to forget her worries, and the gentle warmth of making love flowed through her veins.

But as she fell, the soothing peace of her memories turned to agony, as she felt all the warmth and gentleness of the world being torn from her. She floated hopelessly through the void, feeling a strong, wicked force wrap itself around her, ready to consume her whole.

She sighed softly as powerful arms wound around her waist and she felt the mass of the demon pressing against her back. Thick, leathery wings folded around them, blotted out what little light there was, and in the darkness that followed, the beast whispered to her. "You are mine now, little girl. You are where you belong."

"Yes," Julia murmured quietly, feeling how easy it was to surrender to this monster. Understanding how hopeless it was to fight. After all, what was there to fight for?

Even in the darkness, she could feel the demon's smile, and she felt herself melting into him, losing herself to him. "He will never reach you here," the demon whispered, its breath sending a cooling shiver down her neck, spreading through her body.

"No," Julia whispered back. "He will never reach me… He will never reach me **here**." As she said the word, Julia eyes opened wide, straining in the darkness, and the breath caught in her throat. The evil that embraced her held its breath also, and a tiny, delicate sparkle of hope sprang alight in her heart. "I do **not** belong here!" she said, this time her voice confident and certain. At the sound of it, the demon's grip on her loosened. "I WILL NEVER BELONG WITH YOU!" she screamed into the darkness, slamming her fists into the wings that engulfed her, tearing apart the leathery membranes that contained her. As she broke free she gasped, blinding light flooding her senses and she fell to the ground. But instead of the cold, harsh rock she had expected, she landed on soft grass. Opening her eyes, she found herself in a wide field, the warm sun beating down about her. 

Turning, she saw Hwoarang standing a short distance away. Her heart thudded in her chest, and unsure whether or not she could believe her eyes, she hesitated in approaching him. "Hwoarang?" she whispered cautiously, searching what she saw for any trace of deceit. When he turned to face her, his eyes searched hers, as though looking for the answer to a question that had yet to be asked.

"Julia," he whispered, and she was sure it was him, although she could not understand how.

"I thought you were dead," she said sadly, tilting her head and gazing at him. She wished to remember every detail, longing to run to him, but afraid that he would only leave her again.

"Don't worry," he told her, seeming to sense the worry that consumed her. "I'm coming for you. I promise." He stepped close to her, and she shut her eyes peacefully as he gently stroked her cheek with his hand. When she again opened her eyes, it was the soft summer breeze that caressed her face. She was alone, but she knew that she would not be like that forever.

As Julia drifted up from the darkness, the first thing that came to her was the soft murmuring of noise. Gradually it began to clear, becoming voices, whispering quietly around her, and the rhythmic beeping of a machine. At first, the tingling was isolated to her fingers and toes, but quickly it swept over her whole body, prickling her to the core. As the numbness lifted, it was replaced by the feeling of a heavy weight pressing down upon her, holding her in place, and with great effort, she struggled to ease the heaviness from her body. As her senses awoke, shadows and lights moved before her eyelids, and a harsh, uncomfortable itching covered the back of her hand, and a dull, constant ache throbbed in her head. Trying to escape the pain, she focused herself on the sounds. A voice was speaking, calling to someone. It was a man's voice. It called to her, and she felt relief and happiness flood through her as she heard it. Fluttering her eyes open, she gazed up into the eyes that were watching over her.

Light, hazel eyes looked down at her. Julia didn't recognise them. "Hunh…" she whispered, trying to form the words she wanted.

"Jules?!" the strange man smiled down at her, before glancing across at someone Julia could not see.

"Hmmm…" she sighed again, blinking heavily. 

"Julia!" she heard the cry of a woman's voice come from beside her, and she slowly, painfully turned her head to see her mother leaping out of her seat to lean over her, grasping her hand in hers.

Julia frowned up at her, unsure what was going on. "Mo.. Mother?" she managed to whisper.

"Oh, thank the spirits!" Michelle squeezed her daughter's hand, tears welling up in her eyes. 

"Where am I?" Julia asked, her confusion heightened by the pain in her head.

"Oh, Julia!" Michelle gasped, tears falling down her cheeks, too choked with tears to go on.

"You were in an accident," the man Julia didn't know explained. "You fell off your horse. You're in the hospital."

"In the hospital…" Julia repeated his words, as she began to recall what had happened. "Xiao called… and then… there was a snake," she murmured, frowning as she tried to make sense of her memories.

"A snake?" the asked.

"I didn't see it. Tantrum got spooked…" she turned back to her mother.

"I'm just so glad you're ok!" Michelle cried, hugging her tightly.

As she hugged her mother, she looked back at the man. He did seem a bit familiar.

At that moment, another person entered the room, and a loud squeal filled the air. "She's awake!" Hayley bounded across the room, and seeing her university friend, Julia realised why she recognised the man. It was the guy Carrie had introduced her to. But what was his name…

"William! Why didn't you come and get me?!" Hayley chided, as she hurried over and shoved him out of the way, taking Julia's other hand. Julia frowned, looking down at the bed she lay in, trying to sort out all the thoughts flying through her mind.

Michelle turned to William, "Go and get the doctor. Tell them she's awake." 

"How long…?" Julia asked, looking back to her mother. 

"Three days, my darling," Michelle explained, stroking her forehead softly, and looking at her with concern. We were all so worried. 

Once the doctor had visited and checked her over, he said that all the signs were good, but she should stay in the hospital for at least one more night, to keep an eye on her, because head injuries can be very dangerous. When he'd gone, Hayley and William left, but Julia's mother refused to do the same. She sat and watched her as she slept.

Two days later, Julia was ready to leave the hospital. Much to her mother's annoyance, she chose to go back to university, as she was worried that she'd missed too much work, and she didn't want to fail her exams. Hayley and Carrie had been going to pick her up, but Michelle insisted on taking her back to the dorms. Julia hadn't suffered such over-protective parenting since she fell out a tree and broke her leg when she was ten. Michelle still gave her angry glares if she went too close to a tree.

"Mom, please! I'll be fine. I can take care of myself." Julia's protests earned her nothing but a cross look. 

"Julia, I really think it would be best for you to come and stay with me for a while, just until you're feeling better," Michelle went on.

"I feel fine already!" Julia exclaimed, for what felt like the millionth time.

"You were almost killed, Julia. That does not make you fine!"

"Mother, really. I'm all right. The doctor said I was in perfect health."

Michelle glanced across at her daughter, and flicked her eyes back to the road. "Julia, Hayley said that you got some bad news from one of your friends, and that was why you were being so reckless. I just think it would be… safer if you were to stay with me. I'm not sure I like that group of friends you hang around with. They could be a bad influence, especially that Carrie girl. I don't want you doing anything stupid."

"Mother! I am not suicidal. And I'm not about to start doing drugs or working as a prostitute because of my friends. Which is stuff that none of them do, anyway!"

Michelle sighed, shaking her head. "Julia, I just want you to be safe. I was so worried about you."

Now Julia felt guilty. She knew that her mother just loved her and was worried about her. She apologised to her as she got out at the dorms, promising to call whenever she needed to, and agreeing to visit her Michelle at the weekend.

As she walked down the corridor to her room, Julia recalled the sound of the telephone that had filled it the last time she had been there, and she was thankful that today it was silent. She sighed, shifting her small backpack on her shoulder as she shoved her key into the lock. It looked like Hayley wasn't home after all. As she pushed the door open and flicked on the light a huge cry went up.

"SURPRISE!"

Julia stared in awe at the sight before her. All of her university friends and quite a few people she didn't know were crammed into the room. A huge banner that read 'Welcome Home Julia' was hung across the window, and there were bowls of party food and a big table of drinks at one side. All the furniture had been pushed against the walls to clear a dance floor and a tacky disco ball had been hung up in the middle of the ceiling.

"Oh wow!" Julia exclaimed, looking around in shock.

"Welcome home, Julia!" Hayley yelled, leaping across the room and catching her in a tight embrace. "We're all so glad to have you back!" 

Julia was completely gob-smacked. She couldn't believe her friends had gone to this much trouble for her. Once it got into full swing, the party quickly transformed from a one-bedroom get-together to a mass orgy of celebration, spreading all the way down the corridor, with people arriving from all areas of the campus to join the festivities. One friend or another, all eager to ensure that she was enjoying herself constantly surrounded Julia. She did enjoy the party, despite the usual party mishaps, such as having drinks spilt all over her and getting sore feet from having no where to sit down. 

There was also a rather unpleasant run in with William, who appeared to have assumed the roll of her boyfriend while she was asleep, and therefore took it upon himself to advise that she give up horse riding. "It's dangerous, and we don't want you getting hurt! Plus I'm sure if you quit, your thighs would slim down in no time," he told her, giving her bum a playful squeeze. Five seconds later she'd emptied the entire contents of the punch bowl over his head and gone to spend time with people she actually liked. Hayley thought that this was brilliant, and Carrie begrudgingly agreed that he hadn't been quite the man she'd thought he was, and not suitable for Julia at all. 

However, despite all the fun and friends, deep down Julia realised that the only person she really wanted to see wasn't there, and it made her heart ache. Eventually, at about three in the morning, when the guests had gone, and the music had been turned off, Julia climbed into her bed, and snuggled down to sleep, squeezing her eyes tight shut, so that she wouldn't cry.

Julia awoke late the next day, squinting painfully at the light coming through the open curtains. "Geez, Hayley. Can't you close them?"

Hayley, who was busy wearily gathering rubbish at the other side of the room, looked over at her friend. "It's 2pm Julia. We can't keep the curtains shut all day. It's not healthy."

Julia groaned, sitting up in bed. "Fine…" she grumbled. She plodded her way across the pigsty of a room, grabbing whatever items of clothing she could find on her way to the bathroom. She stared bleakly at the dark shadows under her eyes and gave another groan. Exams in a week, she hadn't done any studying, and she felt like hell. This'll be fun.

"Hey, I'll help you with that," she offered, emerging from the bathroom and seeing Hayley struggling with a couple of huge bags full of rubbish.

"No, it's fine. I've got it!" Hayley beamed confidently at her. "Is that my top?"

"Um…" Julia answered, looking to see that she was indeed wearing one of Hayley's tops.

"Never mind," Hayley said, dragging the bags toward the door. 

"You sure you don't want any help?" Julia asked again.

"I'm sure! I'm just gonna take these out to the bins, then I'll Hoover the place before I go round to Matt's."

"'Kay," Julia nodded at her roommate and the huge bags she was struggling with. "I'm gonna get started on some studying."

As Hayley left, letting the door slam shut behind her, Julia turned to her desk and hauled a couple of books down off the shelf.

Just as she was settling down, she heard a knock at the door. "I guess she needs help after all," Julia mumbled to herself as she went to answer it.

"Hwoarang!" she exclaimed after a few seconds of confused blinking, her eyes widening in recognition. His hair was now a layer of very short black stubble, and rather than his usual grubby biker gear, he wore a smart white shirt and a pair of black jeans, which, from the strength of the colour, were new. He held a single red rose in his hand, which he offered to her, smiling at her recognition, and the fact she seemed happy to see him. Taking the rose from him, she smelt it, smiling happily, before turning her eyes again to gaze at him, unsure what to say next.

"I…" he began, running his hand across his head, frowning at the lack of hair, which he still wasn't used to. "I'm really sorry. I know I left without saying anything, but… I thought a lot about you, and what you said to me… About having a target in life and stuff…" Hwoarang went on, looking down at his feet, not sure how she was reacting to this, as she just kept staring at him, with the same look in her eyes. Taking a deep breath, he continued his speech, which he'd rehearsed a million times while he hitchhiked across the country, but was getting all wrong, now that the time came. "And I realised that… that it was you. You are my target. I want to see you make your dreams come true. I want to see you happy, because…"

Julia gazed at him, searching for what his next words would be, and hardly able to believe that he was really there.

"Because, I love you." Hwoarang looked up at her, staring deep into her eyes, hoping that she'd forgive him, and that she would accept him.

Reaching out, Julia took his hand and pulled him gently into the room, towards her. "I love you back," she whispered, tilting her head up and kissing him softly. He responded by wrapping his arms around her, pulling her into a tight embrace, and kissing her with such passion they were releasing all the pain and tension of the time they'd been apart.

They were still deep in their kiss when Hayley returned a few minutes later. At her embarrassed cough, Julia broke the kiss and looked over Hwoarang's shoulder. Hayley grinned broadly at both of them. "Is that him?" she asked Julia cheerfully. 

Smiling like the cat that's got the cream, Julia nodded, before pulling Hwoarang back into another kiss. With that, Hayley gave a whoop of joy, "wahey!"

The End

-*-

And just so there aren't too many unanswered questions:

Julia made Hwoarang go to the doctor and get his leg checked, which was just as well, as it had become a bit infected. Btu with some antibiotics it healed fine.

She took Hwoarang to meet her mother at the weekend. Michelle was pleased that her daughter was happy, although she'd have preferred it if the guy hadn't been a street thug and an illegal immigrant.

Julia did pass all her exams.

Hwoarang got a job on the reservation, helping reforest the land, and is considering going for a career in forestry.

He taught Julia to ride a motorbike, and she taught him to ride a horse.

They still argue all the time, and everyone thinks it's terrible, but they don't mind, because the make up sex is always fantastic.

  
Hwoarang's hair did grow back, although it took some time. He also dyed it red again, as he thinks black is boring.

If you want to know anything else about this story, then feel free to email me. I don't bite, usually.

I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed. Thank you to Sarah, Chandavatika, Leda Mayfair, Gizmo, spifferfish, Solaris, Akira14-Raziel, Jenna21, Jenna, crazed reviewer, Hwoarang, Ayanami, :Dark:, Iris Omega, kazzy, L*a*u*r*a, babyg2988, E-chan Hidaka, SSJ Tokya, C*h*e*r*r*i*e*s, Burnsidegirl, Kkornelia, Sammei, Trenay, Princess Michelle, MissDbzMedabots, Kittenwithclaws, Chibi-Sugababy, Legolas Luver, Firebird, The Fire Dancer, double-oh-zero, oreo-panda, zelda, and krappkarmin. All your reviews are so nice (except maybe that one calling me a wart-faced baboon…) and they encourage me to write more. Thank you so much!

Special thanks go to:

**My darling boyfriend, Drake** - Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thanks for proof-reading all my writing, and putting up with my constant "Are you sure it's ok? Is it dull? Do you like this bit? What about that bit?" Etc.

**Princess Michelle** - Your stories are inspirational, and you reviews are just so lovely!

**MissDbzMedabots** - Iris, your enthusiasm for my writing is wonderful, and I love all the encouragement you give me.

**Solaris and Chandavatika** - You both gave me encouragement early on, without which, I may have given up on this story.

Thank you to the people who have contacted me either by email or MSN because of this story, and thank you to anyone who has read it, but not told me.


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